


Spider Riders Second Season

by soaker87



Category: Spider Riders - All Media Types, スパイダーライダーズ ~オラクルの勇者たち | Spider Riders ~Oracle no Yuusha-tachi~
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, Interspecies Romance, Original Character(s), Romance, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 04:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 33,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2952965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soaker87/pseuds/soaker87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sequel to Spider Riders Alternative. As the Riders are enjoying peace, they're attacked by a mysterious shadow. How is this connected to the appearance of a new Earthen Spider Rider?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Short-Lived Peace

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Like Spider Riders Alternative, cross-posted from ff.net.  
> Maybe nobody asked for it, but at long last, I've made a sequel to my SR rewrite. Now, this will not be a full 52-episode season. Much shorter than that. But it should still be fairly long. Also, while I hate OCs, I must warn that this story has OCs in it. Why? Because I thought if there was ever a real season 2 of Spider Riders, they would probably introduce new characters. However, they do have purposes (which will be revealed in time) and I promise this will not be a canon x OC story. So, please enjoy.

**1- A Short-Lived Peace**  
  


On a rather average afternoon, the three female Spider Riders were gathered together in Arachna Castle. They were sitting around a small table, and had been chattering non-stop, to catch up on things.

“I still can’t believe you’re really getting married,” Corona spoke, as she looked to Aqune. “I mean… well, it must be exciting, but do you really want to marry Buguese?”

“Yes,” Aqune replied. Of course, she could understand why Corona and any other Spider Rider would be skeptical of it. Yes, it was rather sudden, and the Spider Riders were enemies with the Insectors for a long time.

“Did you get a pretty dress yet?” Sparkle asked.

“Actually, not yet,” Aqune replied. “But the other day I was looking, and I did find one that I really liked.”

“I can’t wait to see!” exclaimed Sparkle. “You too, right, Hotarla?”

“Kyu!” replied the little spider.

“Well… we’ll have to see,” said Aqune. “Buguese and I haven’t worked it all out yet. Of course, he doesn’t really want a lot of people around. But, I want you guys to be there.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Buguese isn’t fond of us,” Corona pointed out. “Still, you’re lucky, Aqune.”

“Hm?” Aqune glanced at her, puzzled.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get married,” Corona replied.

“But I thought you and Hunter were dating now,” Sparkle mentioned.

“Well, dating doesn’t mean you’ll get married,” Aqune replied. “Even so, I’ll be surprised if you don’t end up with Hunter.”

“I hope so…” said Corona. “But lately, he’s been caught up in training. It’s like he has no time for me, or maybe he doesn’t even notice me anymore.”

“Or maybe, it’s because now he has someone he needs to protect,” answered Aqune. “Hunter isn’t very sensitive, but he would do anything for the people he cares about. I pray that conflict never befalls the Inner World again, but if it does, a hero always has to be prepared.”

“Thanks, Aqune,” said Corona. “You’re always so understanding.”

Aqune laughed.

“I need to be,” she said. “Buguese isn’t really the romantic type either, as you’ve probably noticed.” She was faintly blushing. “Well, most of the time.”

Magma and Igneous stood outside the room, and had briefly been listening in.

“This is boring,” Magma commented. “What is with girls and romance?”

“Uh… yeah,” replied Igneous, nervously.

“What’s your problem?” Magma asked.

“Nothing to worry about," he answered, attempting to sound serious.

“I know,” said Magma, smirking. “You wish there were a bunch of girls talking about you.”

“I’m sure that happens all the time,” Igneous replied. “I don’t need to think of such things.”

“How sure?” Magma continued.

“Magma, if you’re that bored, why don’t we do something practical with our time?” Igneous replied. “Hunter has the right idea, focusing on his training.”

“Hmm… I suppose,” said Magma. “I don’t want to get rusty, even though I’m glad we haven’t needed to use our fighting skills since Mantid was taken care of.”

“Exactly,” Igneous answered. “Only, the prince is taking it too far by sleeping in later and later every day. Someone needs to wake him up, but even I don’t have the patience for that.”  


* * *

Hunter slashed at wooden targets outside the castle. Shadow was watching him from a short distance away.

“You’re really taking this seriously,” the spider commented. “Sometimes, you actually impress me.”

“Yeah,” Hunter replied, barely looking back at the spider. “A Spider Rider always needs to be prepared!” Another target was shattered by a swift hit with his pike.

“I agree, Hunter,” Igneous spoke. He and Magma approached Hunter, fully transformed.

“We thought maybe you could use sparing opponents,” Magma suggested. “What do you say?”

“Sure,” said Hunter, smiling at the two.

“That would be great,” Shadow agreed.

“Alright, who wants to go first?” Hunter asked.

“I will,” Igneous declared.

Once they were set up in the arena to fight, the two Riders stared each other down.

“This will be revenge for our last fight,” Hunter declared.

“No, the results will be the same as before,” Igneous responded, though he wasn’t sure if he could believe his own words. Hunter had really improved, and would probably have the advantage even if he didn’t use the Oracle Keys.

From one direction, Hunter and Shadow charged. Igneous and Flame waited patiently, their intent on simply dodging the blow, then retaliating. The first part of their plan worked out. However, they didn’t expect for Shadow to spin around, giving Hunter the chance to strike while they were in mid-motion. Igneous was knocked off of Flame’s back. Still, he quickly stood up.

“Not bad, Hunter,” he said.

Hunter ran towards him, intent on striking, but Igneous succeeded in blocking this blow with his sword.

“However, I’m not going to lose.”

“Neither am I!” Hunter yelled, as he began to push Igneous back. “I never give up!”

“Ahhhh!”

Hearing a cry, both Hunter and Igneous stopped their fight, and turned around.

“Magma?!” Hunter exclaimed.

They saw Magma was thrown to the ground, though he didn’t look like he was seriously hurt.

“What was that?” Igneous asked.

“Look!” Magma answered, as he got to his feet.

A short distance away stood a figure, distinctly shaped like a man atop a spider. But the problem was, this figure was black as a shadow. It was as if it wasn’t even a real person.

“Who is that?” Igneous wondered. He hurried closer to the figure. “What do you want?” But once he got a better view, the knight’s eyes widened. This shadow of a person… what was it, even?

* * *

“Aqune, did you hear that?” Corona questioned.

“Yeah,” Aqune replied, looking serious. “I wonder what’s going on.”

“Let’s find out,” said Corona. “Sparkle, hopefully it’s nothing serious, but you should wait here.”

“A-alright…” the girl replied worriedly. “I’ll get Lumen.”

* * *

“Igneous, what are you doing?” Hunter asked, seeing that his comrade was wavering. He and Magma approached the commander. “This is weird…” Hunter continued.

The figure carried a sword, which also looked as if it were made from shadows. He ran towards Igneous, who was closest, swinging the blade fiercely.

Startled as he was, Igneous still had the instinct to block the blow. Despite the appearance of his attacker, the sword still felt the same as a solid one, and crashed loudly with Igneous’s own weapon.

“I don’t know what you are or what you want,” spoke Igneous. “But I will defeat you.” Putting enough power into his own strike, he forced the shadow to back away slightly.

“What’s going on?!” Corona asked, as she and Aqune arrived on the scene.

Hunter turned his head, a worried look on his face.

“Be careful, you two. Something attacked us.”

“Is that a Spider Rider?” Aqune asked.

“I don’t know,” Hunter said. “It doesn’t seem human.”

The shadow, seemingly unconcerned by the arrival of two more Riders, dashed toward Hunter. He didn’t appear to care about Igneous anymore.

“Hey!” Hunter exclaimed, not expecting it to change targets like that. Though, he supposed it had done the same before, going from Magma to Igneous.

Hunter easily blocked the incoming blow, regardless.

“Whatever you are, you’re not going to hurt anyone!” shouted Hunter. “Shadow, let’s go!”

“Right!” replied Shadow.

“I don’t even need the Oracle Keys to deal with you!” decided Hunter. Taking the offensive, he and Shadow rammed at their opponent. The shadowy man was pushed backward.

“Huh?” Hunter said. He didn’t even have the need to go in for another attack. For the shadow began to dissolve before his eyes.

“Where did it go?” Magma asked. Now, not a trace of it remained.

“That was too eerie,” Corona spoke, as she looked to her comrades, hoping any of them were less clueless than she was. That hope was in vain.

“Well, at least it’s gone,” Hunter said. “But, still… it must have attacked us for a reason. Just, what could it be?”

Aqune looked down, troubled.

‘Is there a new enemy?’ she wondered. ‘But, finally everything was going well…’

Then, Lumen and Sparkle finally joined the group.

“Woah, what is going on here? Why do you all look so serious?” Lumen spoke, instantly starting to regret getting out of bed.”

“Someone… or something attacked us,” Hunter answered.

“Well, where are they now?” Lumen questioned, sighing. Yep, this was clearly a mistake.”

“They disappeared,” Igneous answered.  


“Well, that’s sure helpful,” Lumen grumbled. “Well then, what do you guys propose we do now?”  



	2. Another Spider Rider

**2- Another Spider Rider**  


The Spider Riders stood there at the arena, all silently wondering, but no one was quick to speak up. It didn’t matter though, for that was when Buguese arrived, suddenly landing his transport near the group of Riders. And seeing all of them standing outside, he wasn’t really sure what to think.

Of course, the Riders took notice of his arrival as well.

“Buguese!” Aqune exclaimed, as she ran to him. Although she was expecting him, she was very glad to see him now. Aqune clutched him tightly, burying herself under his cape.

“Aqune…” he said, not expecting that kind of reaction. “Are you alright?”

Aqune shook her head.

“No. I don’t want to fight anymore. Not ever.”

“You don’t have to, my Aqune,” Buguese said. “But, what exactly is going on?”

“I don’t have a choice,” she said. “Because it’s my duty as a Spider Rider.”

Letting go of the Insector, Aqune thought she should try and explain properly.

“We were attacked,” she finally answered. “By something unknown.” Her eyes were trembling with concern.

“Are you hurt?” Buguese asked, gently brushing his fingers through her hair. He had simply come here to pick up Aqune, and seriously was not expecting any sort of conflict like this.

“No,” she said. “None of us are. However…”

“Alright, enough with your public displays of affection!” Magma exclaimed. “This is serious!”

Hunter looked to Magma, annoyed. He knew of Magma’s dislike for Buguese, but clearly, Aqune was troubled.

“You see… Buguese…” Hunter said. “There was this shadow thing, only it was solid. It looked like a Spider Rider. It attacked Magma. Then Igneous fought against it, then it went after me. After I defeated it, it just disappeared.”

“The shadow of a Spider Rider?” Buguese wondered. “Why would it attack fellow Spider Riders?”

“That’s what we want to know,” Lumen said. “Or, if it even was a Spider Rider. Maybe, it was some kind of trick.”

“Then this is indeed serious,” said Buguese. “If it attacked you, it may attack Insectors as well. And that I cannot allow. I would like to discuss this matter with you further, Prince Lumen, but now I have no time to dwell here.”

“Alright, perhaps another time,” Lumen said. “I was a bit tired today anyway.”

“Wait!” Sparkle exclaimed. “Brother, what if we go with them to the Insector lands?”

“Huh?” He stared at his sister, surprised.

“You’re the prince, so it’s important that you talk things over with the Insectors as soon as possible, isn’t it? And then I can go see Uncle Hop. I bet he’ll come up with a great plan.”

“Umm…” Lumen was at a loss for words, though probably, he realized, he couldn’t exactly argue. Not with Sparkle, anyway. She was always his biggest soft spot. “Alright,” he consented. “Buguese, is that alright with you?”

“It’s fine,” he stated. “But I did have other business to take care of, so let’s not delay.”

“I’m glad!” Sparkle said, excited.

Soon, Buguese departed with Aqune, Lumen and Sparkle. That left only four Riders remaining at the castle.

“Hopefully they can figure out a plan,” Corona stated, though doubt showed in her voice.

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed. “And I’m worried about Aqune. She seemed pretty upset.”

“Isn’t that natural?” Igneous asked. “We were all enjoying this peace, and she had a pretty hard life before this.”

“Hello!”

The Spider Riders heard a voice calling them from a distance, and not a familiar one. And shortly after, the figure of a teenage boy drew closer. His hair was red, fairly long for a boy, as it passed his shoulders. He wore black pants, and a white shirt, covered by a jacket to match his pants. But the most striking thing about him was the manacle he wore on his wrist.

“Tell me who you are and what you’re doing here!” Igneous yelled, as he ran to the boy, carrying his sword.

“Hey, what is your problem?” the boy asked, startled. He started to back away.

“Hey, stop that, Igneous!” Hunter yelled, running to catch up with him.

“Stop it? Why?” he asked, his sword a close distance to the new Rider’s neck.

“I never thought saying hello would lead to my death,” the boy mumbled, trying to crack a smile.

“We’re not going to hurt you… I think,” spoke Hunter, who glared at Igneous. Reluctantly, the blue haired Rider lowered his sword, but still held onto it.

“Hunter, don’t you think this is suspicious?” Igneous said.

Magma and Corona looked to each other. Though they were thinking the same thing as him, they chose to simply stay back for the moment.

“Just wait,” Hunter whispered to Igneous. Smiling, he then looked to the red-haired boy.

“I’m sorry about that. We were just attacked by someone, only we don’t know who. Can you tell us who you are?”

The boy looked surprised.

“Well, my name’s Richter,” he said. “I came here looking for the Spider Riders, because I heard this is where they live. But, maybe this wasn’t such good timing, if you’re being attacked.”

“The person who attacked us may have been a Spider Rider,” Corona said, as she walked closer to the others. “So, when you showed up here, that’s why we were startled. By the way, I’m Corona.”

“And I’m Hunter,” her companion added. “That’s Igneous, and over there is Magma. We’re all Spider Riders.”

“Good,” Richter said. “At least I’m in the right place. See, I really don’t know what I’m doing. I only just found this manacle, and became a Spider Rider.”

“Wait, you just found the manacle?” Hunter wondered. Of course, it did make some sense. And if a new Spider Rider were to emerge, it couldn't have happened until recently, with Brade's disappearance, if there were only supposed to be eight.

“Hunter, this guy is way too suspicious,” Magma said. “I mean, it’s cool if there’s another Spider Rider, but why would he just show up at a time like this?”

“We don’t know he’s responsible for sure,” Hunter argued. “Corona, don’t you agree?”

“Umm… well…” she began. “If you seriously trust him, then, I guess…”

“Okay, I get it,” Richter sighed. “You guys obviously don’t want me around. Plus, if you’re fighting against bad Spider Riders, not to mention fighting among yourselves, it might be a bit too dangerous for a new guy like me. What a shame, though. I was hoping I could use these powers to make a difference, and I wanted to become stronger.” At that, he turned away.

“Wait, don’t go!” Hunter called. “Even if no one else will give you a chance, I will.” He turned to face the other three. “Please,” he said. “If I’m wrong, I’ll take the responsibility. But, Aqune turned out to be good. Even Grasshop… and Buguese is kind of alright. What kind of heroes are we, to pass judgment before we get to know the guy?”

They all looked at him, feeling kind of guilty.

“Alright then,” Igneous finally spoke.

“Yeah,” said Corona.

“Then, guess I have to agree too,” Magma added.

“Great!” Hunter exclaimed.

“Umm… hey…” Richter spoke up. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to just jump into the conversation at a time like this, but it was weird enough already, he supposed. “What do you know about this person you say attacked you?”

“Well, he was a shadow, for one,” Hunter answered. “He did clearly look like a guy riding a spider. But, with the way he disappeared, it’s almost like he was an illusion. Like somebody created it, instead of just attacking by themselves. It’s weird, but we don’t really know if it was a Spider Rider who caused this.”

“That reminds me of something,” said Richter, looking serious.

“Huh? You’ve seen it before?” Hunter wondered.

“No,” said Richter. “Not the person you’re talking about. I mean, someone I knew back then. Someone truly evil. I guess, just like where I come from, there’s evil in this world too.”

“W-wait, what are you talking about?” Corona asked. “In… this world?”

“I should probably tell you,” Richter said. “I came here from Earth.”

The other Riders reeled back in shock.

“You’re an Earthen too?!” Hunter exclaimed.

“Mhm,” said Richter.

“We really need to talk,” Hunter replied.

“Yeah,” Corona agreed. “Why don’t we go inside?”

The boy was not just a Spider Rider, but an Earthen too? Certainly, the day was getting weirder and weirder.


	3. The Second Attack

**3- The Second Attack**

It was a day later when Lumen arrived back at Arachna castle. It was early in the morning, and he was alone, both of which were a bit unusual.

“Welcome back, Prince,” said Igneous, glad to see that he’d returned safely. “But, may I ask, where is Princess Sparkle?”

Lumen groaned, barely looking up at the knight. 

“She wanted to stay with Grasshop. Oh Sparkle, why do you like him better than me, your only brother?” He fell to his knees, dramatically.

“Prince…” Igneous wasn’t sure how to respond. “I don’t think that Sparkle likes him better, but he’s probably her closest friend. She doesn't get the chance to play with kids her own age outside of the castle.”

“Either way, what’s to like about Grasshop? I had to stay overnight at his house, and let me tell you, I wouldn’t do that again.”

“Hey!” Hunter called, running into the room when he heard Lumen’s voice. “How did your meeting with Buguese go?”

“It was nothing special,” answered Lumen, who then took a deep yawn. “I got no sleep. Let’s talk about it later.”

“But, it’s important!” Hunter yelled.

“I agree,” added Igneous. “We should try and deal with this matter as soon as possible.” Thinking strongly of Richter, he couldn’t shake away his doubt about the boy’s entrance. Spider Rider or not, that timing was too fishy.

“Oh, alright,” Lumen answered. “Buguese said that he would send out messenger bugs to search through Arachna, and then inform us if anything happens. He gave us some too for emergencies. He is willing to help us stop this enemy, if necessary.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Hunter said. “Umm… Lumen. There’s something we should probably tell you about, before you go to bed.”

“What’s that?” he asked, boredly.

“Well…” Hunter walked out of the room for a moment. “Hey, Richter, come here!”

In a moment, the red-head stepped into the room.

“Yes?”

“Richter, meet Lumen. Lumen, meet Richter.”

“Uh… hi,” said Lumen. “Who is this, Hunter?”

“He’s-” Hunter began.

“A Spider Rider,” Richter spoke up, flashing his manacle.

“Really?” Lumen wondered. His interests were slightly perked.

“Yeah, but it’s more than that,” Hunter added. “He’s an Earthen too.”

Richter simply nodded.

Lumen stared at him for a moment, curiously.

“How did you get to the Inner World, exactly? I didn't think that was common. Though, since Hunter and Mantid did it before, maybe I just underestimated how easy it is.”

“Oh,” he said. “Geez, I had to explain this to all of them yesterday. I used to hear stories about this world, so I went looking for it. Then, I fell into a portal one day. And no, before you ask, this didn’t have anything to do with a pyramid.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” said Lumen. “But… do portals to the Inner World just come out of nowhere?”

“It’s suspicious, isn’t it?” Igneous asked the prince.

“I don’t know about suspicious,” Lumen said. “Just confusing. And this on top of what happened yesterday. I really don’t have the strength to think that much. So, good night everyone. Even if it’s the morning.”

Hunter and Igneous gave each other a look, but neither intended to stop him.

“Hey, you guys!” Corona then came into the room, seeming concerned, with Magma behind her.

“Corona, what is it?” Hunter asked.

“We found this outside the castle!” In Corona’s hands was a squirming messenger bug.

“Any idea what it’s doing here?” Magma asked. “If the Insectors are coming after us now too, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“Oh!” Hunter exclaimed. “I don’t think it’s anything bad. Lumen said they were being sent around to look for more attacks. So… does that mean…”

Corona let go of the messenger, who began chirping loudly.

“But… what does it say?” Magma wondered. “Any of you guys fluent in Insector?”

They shook their heads.

“I know!” Richter exclaimed. “I mean, I don’t know what it’s saying, but I think I know what it wants. Let’s follow it.”

Hunter looked to him, surprised. But, that probably was the best idea at the moment.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’ll go with you. Corona, why don’t you come too?”

“Uh… right!” Corona said.

“Alright,” Igneous said. “Magma and I will deal with protecting the castle. Just be careful… very careful.”

“We will!” Corona answered.

Hunter and Corona called out their spiders, once they’d gotten outside the castle. Noticeably, Richter didn’t do the same.

“Hey… You have a spider, don’t you?” Corona asked. Now that she thought of it, that hadn’t actually come up in conversation the day before.

“Well… yeah,” Richter said.

“Then, call it!” Corona replied. “That way, we can make it there faster.”

“I can’t,” he answered.

They looked at him in surprise.

“Well… I had a spider. But I seem to have lost it,” explained Richter, an embarrassed look on his face.

“How do you lose a spider?!” Hunter exclaimed. “Though, sometimes I’d be kind of tempted to lose Shadow.”

“Excuse me?!” Shadow exclaimed.

“I’m kidding…” Hunter answered nervously.

“It’s not so much as I misplaced my spider, but he ran away,” Richter corrected. “He’s a pretty big spider, black and blue mostly, a sleek body… he answers to Wave. You haven’t seen him, have you?”

“No, I haven’t seen any spiders besides the ones we know,” Corona responded.

“Me neither,” Hunter said. “Shadow?”

“No,” the spider answered.

“Well, perhaps we’ll find him,” Venus suggested. “It’s no good for a Rider to be without their spider.”

“Alright, Richter. Get on Shadow with me,” Hunter decided.

“You don’t mind?” asked Richter, though he began climbing on as he spoke.

“Of course not,” replied Hunter. “Now, we have to hurry.”

‘Well, that was almost too easy,’ Richter thought to himself.

The three rushed after the messenger bug, until finally it stopped outside of Padan village.

* * *

“Hello!” Hunter called. He and the other two Riders, now dismounted from their spiders, walked the streets in search of the shadow man.

“Was the bug wrong?” Corona wondered.

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” A shrill scream could be heard nearby.

“Guess not,” said Shadow, from within the manacle.

Up ahead was the shadow itself, who was smashing at the walls of a house with his sword. Several villagers were watching on in horror.

“Please! Help me!”

A young girl stared at them from the window of the house, wavy blue hair running down her back.

“Hang on!” Hunter yelled. “We’re here now!”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, a glimmer in her eyes.

“Oracle’s power!” Hunter yelled, beginning his transformation.

“Oracle’s soul!” Corona called, joining Hunter in battle form.

Corona was quick to shoot an arrow at the shadow. It leapt away from the house, seemingly irritated.

“You’re mine!” Hunter shouted. He lunged at the shadow, who still hadn’t fully recovered from Corona’s blow. Like before, the shadow began to fade.

“Hmm…” Richter said, as he watched on. “They’re pretty good.” He smirked to himself.

“Well, at least it’s beat,” Hunter said.

“Wait!” Corona exclaimed. A glow erupted from the spot where the shadow once stood. Then, in its place, another shadow appeared.

“It regenerated?!” Hunter exclaimed, stunned.

“Oh no!” the blue-haired girl screeched. “Please, you have to save us, Spider Riders!”

“Yeah, I know,” Hunter replied. “Just hang on!”


	4. Surprises

**4- Surprises**

Hunter tried to concentrate for a moment, to come up with the best plan of action for taking the shadow out.

“I need to try more power,” he decided. He pulled out one of the four Oracle Keys.

“My thoughts exactly,” Shadow responded.

“Oracle Key!”

Lights flashed around the Rider and spider pair, and they soon re-emerged in their second level transformation.

“Woah…” the blue-haired girl gazed at the pair in fascination.

“Take this, you illusion!” Hunter shouted. A blue aura emerged around him and Shadow, and he fired off a powerful, spiral blast. The tremendous release of energy made contact with its target, which disappeared, as expected.

“Alright!” Hunter exclaimed. “We did it.”

“Yeah, you really did!” The girl shouted, as she finally opened the door cautiously.

“Mhm,” Hunter said. “Hopefully you don’t need to worry anymore.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” came Richter’s voice.

“Huh?” Hunter responded, as he glanced around.

“Well, something else is coming,” the boy answered, nonchalantly.

“Hunter!” Corona shouted, as she saw yet another shadowy figure charge in behind Hunter. Without a second thought, she fired a barrage of arrows at it. Luckily, this was enough to put a quick stop to it.

“Thanks, Corona,” Hunter said. “You saved me.”

“It was nothing,” replied Corona, smiling.

Though, Corona’s gaze soon turned to where Richter had been standing the whole time.

‘How did he know it was coming, before any of us could see it? Could Igneous be right about Richter? Yet, on the other hand, if he were right here in our sight, how could he have made the attacks?’

“Corona, are you okay?” Hunter asked, noticing her troubled expression.

“Uh… yeah,” she answered, nervously. “Maybe I’m over-thinking.”

“Hey, don’t worry about her!” spoke the blue-haired girl, excitedly. She was now standing right next to Hunter and Shadow. “Hunter, I wanted to tell you that I’m a big fan of you! Well, I’m a big fan of all the Spider Riders. But especially you. You just saved my life!”

“Uh… thanks,” said Hunter. “We’re heroes, of course. That’s what we do.”

“By the way, my name’s Glint. Thought you should know. And… uh, this may be sudden, but I have a really big favor to ask of you.”

“What kind of favor?” Hunter asked, confusion showing in his voice.

“I want to live with you Spider Riders in Arachna castle!”

Both Hunter and Corona did double-takes upon hearing that.

“Umm… don’t you have a house here?” Corona questioned. “It looks like it wasn’t badly damaged. Perhaps the prince can help pay for repairs, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh… the house is no big deal,” she answered. “It’s not much of a home anyway.”

The girl was staring down at her feet. “My parents… they’re never around. I don’t think anyone would notice if I left. Besides…” she quickly rebounded. “I’ve always dreamed of living with the Spider Riders!”

‘Hmm…’ Richter had barely cared about the presence of Glint, but suddenly, her words became interesting to him.

“Uh… If you want to stay for a while, I don’t really mind,” Hunter said. “The castle is big and all.”

Corona looked surprised.

“Hunter, are you sure?”

“Yeah, why not?” he said. “It might be a little dangerous for her, but we do have a new Spider Rider too!”

“Hmm… well, alright,” Corona said. Though, honestly, this girl somehow bothered her a little more than Richter.

“Oh, thank you!” Glint exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Then, all of a sudden, the swift sound of motion could be heard.

“What’s that?” Hunter questioned.

A spider, mostly black in color, leapt onto the scene.

“Oh no!” screamed Glint, who latched onto Hunter’s arm. Seeing this, Corona couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

“Wait, let go!” said Hunter. “I can’t do anything if you’re holding me.”

“Uh… sure,” she said, embarrassed, and quickly complied.

“Who are you?!” Hunter asked to the spider, who had now stopped charging. He held out his pike, prepared to strike, and Corona readied her bow and arrows.

“Wait!” Richter shouted. “That’s Wave!”

“What?” Corona exclaimed.

“Wave, you shouldn’t run away like that,” Richter said, though he didn’t sound angry in the slightest from his tone. “You’re _my_ spider, you know?”

“Sir, what are you saying?” Wave asked.

“Oh, forget it,” Richter responded.

“Too weird,” Glint commented. “That guy is a Spider Rider too?”

“Yes,” Hunter said. “His spider was missing, but now he’s back, it seems.”

“I’m not going to pretend to understand,” Corona mumbled to herself.

“Agreed,” said Venus.

“Well, Spider Rider team! Let’s go home!” Glint declared. “I can’t wait to meet the rest of you! They sound so cool!”

“Eh… they’re not really that cool,” replied Hunter. “The prince is just lazy. Igneous is way too uptight, and he’s scared of ghosts. Magma is a giant Brade fanboy. Well, you’ll learn eventually.”

“Sounds cool enough to me,” she protested. Without even asking permission, she hopped onto Shadow’s back.

* * *

Buguese knocked on the door of Aqune’s room. She had been cooped up in there almost the whole time since they’d gotten back, except for to cook meals. The Insector thought she might come out if he didn’t bother her, but now it had been over a day.

As the girl didn’t respond to his knocking, he called to her instead. “Aqune, listen to me. You can’t stay in there forever.”

“Buguese…” finally, she replied. “You can come in, if you’d like.”

“Good,” he replied, and did so.

“I’m sorry…” said Aqune, who was sitting up in her bed, staring at Buguese. Portia was on the floor beside her.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Buguese responded. “I told you that you don’t need to fight, Spider Rider or not. I can’t take back what’s already happened, but I can do everything in my power to make sure of your happiness now.”

“I know,” she said, smiling to him. “Yet, I can’t do nothing either. I want to protect the future of everyone in the Inner World.”

“Perhaps you can find another way,” Buguese suggested. “You are also a handmaiden. The most special of all handmaidens. I’m sure the power of your prayers could make a difference.”

“Maybe,” Aqune replied. “Thank you, really.”

“I will also be fighting,” Buguese answered. “I promised Prince Lumen that I would help, if it becomes necessary. Although I hope it will not.”

“I just hope the Spider Riders are okay,” Aqune said. "I sense that there's more trouble ahead."

* * *

“We’re back!” Hunter declared, as he entered the castle with the others following behind. “And, we brought back some new friends.”

“Now what?” Igneous wondered. Though, he was surprised to see a rather cute young girl. Lumen too, who had awakened from his nap, took note of this.

“Who are you, young lady?” he asked, as he quickly took her hands in his.

“My name is Glint,” she replied, blushing slightly. “And you must be the prince, right?”

“Indeed,” said Lumen. “You’re attracted to me, aren’t you?”

Igneous sighed, hoping this wasn’t the case.

“Hmm… well you’re pretty cool,” she said. However, she quickly pulled away from his grip, approaching Igneous and Magma. “A brave, chivalrous looking one, and ooh… nice muscles,” she commented. “Well, you two don’t quite have the cute charm of Hunter, but I could get used to that.”

Both Igneous and Magma were amazed by the almost-compliments, as it was pretty rare for girls to pay them any notice. Though, Magma didn’t mind that as much as his friend, because to him, no girl could compare to the Hero Brade.

“Oh yeah,” Magma said, looking to Hunter and the rather disgruntled Corona. “You said ‘friends?’ I don’t see anyone else besides Glint.”

“He means my spider,” said Richter. “Wave, Spider Out!”

The dark-colored spider was released into the castle.

“Can’t have a Spider Rider without a Spider,” Richter commented, grinning. He stared down at his partner. ‘And you’ve been an excellent one.’


	5. Battles of Love

**5- Battles of Love **  
****

Corona sighed to herself, as she sat alone with Venus by the stairway in the castle.

“I just don’t get it,” she said.

“What?” Venus asked. She had noticed her Rider’s mood, but was reluctant to bring up exactly what she thought the problem was.

“Glint,” Corona said. “She’s all over Hunter. Well, not just Hunter. She follows Igneous and Lumen and Magma around too. She’s always asking to watch them train, hoping to see them take their shirts off when they sweat. Of course most of the guys are more than willing to entertain her. She really has some nerve moving in and acting this way.”

“I can see,” Venus said. “I think maybe she’s just excited. She always was a fan.”

“I guess…” said Corona, sounding defeated.

“You know,” Venus added, “With Aqune and Sparkle and their spiders away, I thought it would be interesting for us to be the only girls around for a while. But in the end, I guess crowds are to be expected in a castle.”

“Hmm…” Corona said. “It would be good to avoid the crowds for a while. Maybe and Hunter and I can go on a date, somewhere private.

”

“Good idea,” Venus agreed.

“Hmm…” began Corona. “Well, Hunter might not want to. I guess it doesn’t even have to be a date, exactly. We could go shopping, maybe. But, I don’t think he really likes that either.”

“Why wouldn’t he want to go on a date?” Venus wondered. “I know he really likes you.”

“I… I hope so,” Corona said. “Well, I’ll ask him, then. I might have an idea!”

“Ask what? To who?” Corona turned around to the sound of Hunter’s voice.

“Hunter, when did you get here?” she asked nervously.

“Just right now,” he replied. “I was looking for you.”

“Oh,” Corona replied. She was still a bit embarrassed. “Hunter, I wanted to ask you a question, actually.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“How about we go on a date?”

“Wha-” He wasn’t exactly expecting to be asked that. Still, he smiled. “Sure, why not? But if there is another attack, dealing with that has to come first.”

“Really? That’s great!” Corona replied.

Venus too was glad that worked out so easily.

Glint, on the other hand, was viciously chewing on her sleeve a distance away.

“H-How did that happen?” she grumbled. “It seemed so easy.”

“Because Corona is Hunter’s girlfriend,” Magma answered, who was also watching.

“That can’t be…” Glint replied.

“It is,” Igneous said.

“Then… let’s follow them!” Glint declared. “I… I need to get to the bottom of this.”

“That’s called being nosy,” Richter spoke. “And it’s a very bad idea.”

“No! No it’s not!” Glint declared. “Come on, you guys have to be at least a bit interested, right? I mean, you were all watching. We can hide so that no one sees us.”

“That’s still reckless,” Magma replied. “But… I suppose it could be fun.”

“Are you serious?” Igneous asked.

“Well, I’m serious!” exclaimed Glint. “You’re all coming. Get Lumen too!”

* * *

“I wonder where we should go,” Corona spoke. It was great and all that she asked him, and he said yes, but maybe she should have put a bit more thought into this date, she realized.

“Well, where do you want to go?” Hunter asked.

“Hmm…” Corona began. “Some place pretty. But also fun.”

“Then, pick one,” Hunter replied. “Even though I’ve been here for a while now, you know more about the Inner World than me.”

“I guess so,” Corona realized. “Wait, I know!”

* * *

“Where is this place?” Hunter asked. They had been traveling for a bit of time. Finally, the pair had stopped at what looked to be a sea-side town.

“Fushuwa,” Corona said. “It’s a fishing town, right by the river that leads to Nuuma.”

“Woah!” Hunter exclaimed. “Look at that waterfall!”

It was a tremendous fall, but the most interesting thing about it was that the water streamed upwards instead of down.

“Yeah,” Corona said. “It’s one of the Inner World’s most famous sites.”

“It would be awesome to go surfing, don’t you think?” Hunter spoke.

“Surfing?” Magma wondered. He and the others were crammed together behind a building. “That’s not a great idea for a date.”

“It’s because Hunter isn’t interested in her,” Glint chimed in.

“No, it’s because Hunter often thinks like a child,” Lumen answered. His gaze was quickly averted from the Spider Rider couple when he saw a group of girls walking nearby. “Anyway, I’ve found something else to do. You guys enjoy your spying.”

At that, Lumen dashed away.

“Hey, Hunter, did you hear something?” Corona spoke. “Those voices sounded familiar.”

“Hmm… I don’t think so,” Hunter said. “Anyway, do you want to try surfing?”

“Uh… I’ve never done it before,” Corona answered. She wasn’t completely opposed to the idea, but it did feel a bit impractical. “We don’t have surfboards, though.”

“No,” Hunter replied. “We have spiders. Shadow, Spider Out!”

Shadow was released from the manacle.

“Absolutely not, Hunter!” the blue spider declared. “I will not risk my life on that ridiculous waterfall.”

“It can’t be that dangerous,” Hunter argued.

“Yes it can,” Shadow responded.

“Guys, no fighting today!” Corona interrupted.

“Sorry…” said Hunter.

“Looks like surfing is out of the question,” Corona announced. “So, instead, let’s get something to eat. I hear they have some really nice restaurants here. Maybe I can even get some ideas for new recipes.”

“Yeah!” Hunter exclaimed. “Food sounds great.”

Knowing Hunter would like the idea, Corona smiled.

“What place here is good?” Hunter asked.

“Actually, I never ate here,” replied Corona. “Though, I’ve heard of a place that’s really trendy. Why don’t we try that?”

“Okay, sure,” Hunter agreed.

* * *

“Isn’t that place really expensive?” Magma asked, looking at the building the two had entered.

“Yeah, it is,” Igneous replied. “But I’ve always dreamed of taking a girl there.”

“I’m here,” Glint said. “Take me.”

“It’s not a date when all of us are here,” replied Igneous.

“It’s alright. We should go in anyway,” Glint argued. “How can we see what’s going on from outside?”

‘These guys are all morons,’ Richter thought to himself. ‘Good at battle, but hopeless at everything else.’

* * *

Both Corona and Hunter stared at their menus, exasperated.

“Do you know what any of this stuff is?” Hunter asked. Of course, he wasn't quite an expert on Inner World dishes.

“Maybe this… no wait…” Corona stuttered. “Either way, the prices…”

“I’m not sure this was such a great idea,” Hunter sighed. “I guess we’ll have to go with the cheapest thing, and hope it’s edible.”

“I suppose,” Corona replied, sweating.

* * *

“Uh… L-look…” Igneous stuttered. At a table in the middle of the restaurant, Lumen sat with the girls from earlier.

“They’re stealing Lumen!” Glint exclaimed.

“No, not that,” Igneous replied. “And not so loud. If Hunter sees the prince here, that will blow our cover.”

“Alright, do something,” Magma suggested.

“Yeah,” said Igneous, who rose from his seat. He walked over to the prince’s table.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Igneous asked, only realizing after that his voice was raised.

“Igneous, I’m entertaining the ladies, of course. Now, I know you must be jealous, but please give us some space.” 

“It’s not jealousy, it’s…” Igneous stuttered.

“Uh… you guys?”

Igneous sighed in defeat, seeing that Hunter and Corona were standing there staring at them.

“You followed us here?” Corona wondered.

“Yes,” said Igneous. “It really wasn’t my idea, though. I apologize.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Corona replied. “Our date wasn’t going so well anyway.”

“But whose idea was it?” Hunter asked, looking at Magma accusingly.

“Hey, it wasn’t me!” Magma shouted.

“It was me!” said Glint, who ran up to him. “Hunter, can we try dating next? I promise it will turn out better than today.”

He looked at her, confused, then his face turned serious. “Sorry, Glint. I didn’t know you were interested, but, Corona is the only girl I want to date.”

“Hunter…” Corona said. Hearing that made the whole day worthwhile to her.

“Well… if you get bored of Corona…” Glint continued.

“Were you even listening?” Richter asked.

“Hey, everyone,” Corona began, hoping to change the subject. “Since we’re all here, let’s find a better place to eat.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Hunter replied, as his stomach started to growl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Just want to take note of the fact that I'm assuming they left for Nuuma from a different spot in the previous story. So, Hunter wouldn't have gone to Fushuwa like in the anime.


	6. A Knight’s Tale

**6- A Knight’s Tale**

As per usual, Igneous was outside the castle training. He had no sparring opponent, but was simply practicing his sword form, a serious expression worn on his face.

Both Hunter and Richter happened to be outside as well, but were simply watching. And not too surprisingly, Glint was ogling over the free show.

To the surprise of his audience, Igneous suddenly came to a stop. The knight glared in Richter’s direction, and then approached the boy.

“Richter, you never train with us,” he finally spoke.

“I don’t believe I was ever invited to train,” he answered.

“Well, that’s also true,” answered Igneous. “Nonetheless, this is a time of difficulty, and you are a Spider Rider. If it is truly your wish to be a member of our team, you and Wave should learn to properly fight with us. You only just came to the Inner World, so you probably are not too experienced a fighter.”

“You’d be surprised,” Richter replied. He was maintaining the same bored expression since their conversation began.

“Richter, we never did get to see you fight,” Hunter commented. “I’d like to know what kind of attacks you have. It would be helpful, so we can come up with new strategies to deal with the shadows.”

“I’m in,” Glint spoke up. “I’d be interested in seeing what a cutey like you can do when you’re serious.”

“A cutey?” Richter wondered. He never thought himself to be particularly cute, and certainly this was the first time he was referred to as such.

“Yes,” Glint replied. “But Igneous and Hunter are both cuter than you, sorry to say.”

Hunter groaned. “Not this again.”

“Richter!” Igneous declared. “Fight against me. It’s important that you become strong. Besides, perhaps through a duel, I can see into your heart a bit better.”

“If I have to,” Richter replied. He was wishing to himself that he just slept in. Then he could have avoided this situation altogether.

“Flame, Spider Out!” Igneous yelled.

“Oracle’s spirit!” He called out his transformation line next.

“Well, alright,” Richter said. “Wave, Spider Out!” He took a breath. “Now… Oracle’s rage!”

“Rage?” Hunter was taken aback by such an unusual transformation word. Yet, it was that word which was the key to Richter’s successful transformation.

His battle armor was mostly silver in color. He now sported a cape on his back.

“He looks so chivalrous!” Glint commented. “Perhaps I did underestimate him.”

“Now, are you ready?” Igneous asked. “Because know this… I won’t hold back!”

He nodded.

“I’m ready.”

Igneous made the first move, a strike with his sword. Already, Richter was taken by surprise. He only barely managed to dodge the blow.

“I’m only getting warmed up,” Igneous spoke, as he made another swift attack. The force of it this time when their blades collided was enough to send Wave and Richter flying.

“Hey, hold on!” Richter yelled, annoyed. But naturally, he received no reply. Simply a blast of fire created by Flame, which began to encircle him.

“Eeh, this is way excessive!” he yelled, jumping off of his spider’s back, and over the flames.

“What are you doing?!” Igneous demanded, noting that Richter’s partner was still surrounded by the fire.

“Saving my own butt, what do you think?” he replied.

Igneous swung his blade, with a great intensity. The flames were put out by a gust of wind, which also threw Richter a distance away.

“That’s the end,” Igneous declared. “You’re a terrible Spider Rider. You must fight as partners with your spider, and you must never endanger another life, even for your own safety!”

Cringing, Richter looked up at Igneous.

“I didn’t ask to do this anyway! I just didn’t want to lose.” Quickly, he returned his spider to the manacle, and walked away.

“Wait!” Igneous yelled, though he didn’t bother following.

“Woah, he seems angry,” Glint whispered to Hunter.

“Yeah,” Hunter agreed. “Usually, Igneous is calm.” He looked to Igneous, worriedly.

“Hunter,” called Igneous. “Why don’t you and Glint go inside for now? Maybe you can deal with him. I don’t think I’m the right person for it.”

“Uhh… If you say so,” Hunter answered, though this didn’t help to ease his concerns. “Glint, come on.”

“Yeah, alright,” she said, and followed after.

* * *

“You know, Igneous might be a bit too serious,” Glint spoke, as she and Hunter sat on a couch within the castle. Corona and Magma were also in the room.

“Yeah, he can be,” Hunter said. “But-”

“And he trains way more than any of you,” Glint interrupted. “How come? Do you know?”

“Honestly, I don’t,” Hunter replied. “He’s a knight, so he always has to be concerned about protecting people. That might be why.”

“No, that’s not the reason,” Corona said. “Igneous wasn’t always so serious.”

“Really?” Hunter asked.

“Yeah,” she answered, looking sad. “I don’t know if I should really tell you what I know, because Igneous doesn’t talk about it much either. But, I’ve heard he was actually kind of reckless once.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like Igneous,” Magma commented.

When Igneous suddenly came into the room, an awkward silence spread amongst his comrades.

“Hey Igneous…” Hunter said nervously. “What brings you here?”

“Hunter!” he scolded. “I overheard a little. I know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sorry,” Corona said. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, it’s alright,” Igneous answered.

* * *

“There was an attack?”

Igneous was frustrated, as he heard the grim news from another soldier.

“Yes,” the man said, worriedly. “The Insectors have taken the children of that village hostage. In exchange for their safety, they demand all of their crops.”

“I’ll handle it,” Igneous declared. Really, who else could it be, but him? Though he wasn’t too old himself, the other Spider Riders were much too young to take on a situation like this. And it was rather dire, as Arachna had faced a rather dry year. The crop supply was not an ideal one to begin with.

The boy raced to the village in question, and the scene was not pretty. The children were rounded up in the center of the village, and surrounded by many armed Insector soldiers. Their parents could only watch on worriedly.

“How dare you, Insectors!” Igneous demanded.

“A Spider Rider…” the squad’s captain growled.

“That’s right,” Igneous said. “I’m here to stop you!”

He made no delay to attack the soldier. And of course, his strength as a Rider was not to be taken lightly. After a quick battle, Igneous was the winner.

“This was not part of the equation!” Another Insector declared angrily. He thrust his sword into a small boy, blood splattering around him.

“You may have taken out our leader, but we can still kill all of them if you don’t surrender!” the Insector shouted.

* * *

“That day, the villagers were forced to surrender,” Igneous concluded. “Had I thought of a plan, perhaps if I’d pretended to surrender and fought once the children were released… anything… that child’s death could have been prevented.”

“That’s awful…” Hunter said. “I’m sorry. I never would have imagined something like that happened.”

“Since that day, I learned to look at every situation more carefully. To never enter a battle unprepared. I devoted myself to training not just my body, but my mind. As you know, my reputation has long since been restored. That incident isn’t even talked about. But deep down, I’ll always think of that boy, how my rashness was the cause of his death. I swore to do everything in my power to never let another innocent person die again.”

“So that’s how it is?”

When they turned their heads, the Riders saw Richter standing by the room’s entrance.

“Hey, Richter!” Hunter called, hoping to get his attention. However, the boy left without a word.

“Is that alright?” Hunter asked to Igneous.

“Yes,” Igneous said. “If he heard, maybe that will help him understand. That is, if a boy like him is even cut out to be a Spider Rider. There's something unstable about him.”

“You still don’t trust him, do you?” Hunter asked.

“I want to trust him,” Igneous said. “Still, we know little about him.”

“Well, then just keep training with him,” Hunter suggested. “Didn’t you say it would help to see his heart?”

“You’re right,” Igneous said. “Then that’s what I will do.”


	7. Insectors Attacked

**7- Insectors Attacked**

Near the entrance to Arachna castle, Richter sat pressed to a wall.

“This is getting much too boring,” the boy complained. He lifted his manacled arm closer to his mouth, and softly said, “Hey, Wave. I’m gonna need you to help me with something again. Something to make this day worthwhile.”

* * *

Sparkle stood behind a tree, counting. She was at a park in the Insector Empire, and in the midst of a game of hide-and-seek with Grasshop. She was it.

“Ready or not, here I come!” she shouted, and headed off to begin her search.

“Kyu, kyu, kyu,” Hotarla added.

‘Hmm…’ the girl thought to herself. ‘Uncle Hop usually isn’t a good hider, so where could he be?’

Then, she heard noise from the bushes nearby. That was a good clue. But as she approached the bushes, the girl jumped back, startled. Because out from the bushes emerged a shadow.

“Kyu! Kyu! Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!” Hotarla began to jump around nervously.

“That’s…” Sparkle began. “Is that the thing Hunter and the others fought against? Ahhhh!” The shadowy figure thrust his blade in her direction.

“Princess!” Grasshop yelled, concerned when he heard her scream. Deciding to leave his hiding spot, he rushed over to her.

“Uncle Hop!” Sparkle shouted. “Look!” She was unharmed, having run away fast enough, but rather afraid.

“What is that thing?” he asked, and then was forced to grab Sparkle out of the way and duck the blade as it again moved in for another attack.

“It’s the new enemy,” Sparkle said, worriedly. “I think there’s no choice but to fight it.”

“Are you sure it’s not too dangerous?” Grasshop asked. But the girl was already prepping for transformation.

“Oracle’s Purity!”

In Spider Rider mode, Sparkle made no delay to start pounding at the shadow with her yoyo.

“Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away! Get away!”

“Sorry to say, but I don’t think that’s working,” Grasshop said, as he was watching from a safer distance. He didn’t want to get hit by Sparkle’s vicious attack either.

“Do something…” she replied. Then, a swift retaliation shot from the shadow made contact, sending Sparkle flying.

“How dare you hurt her?!” Grasshop yelled, charging at it with a knife. When he stabbed the shadow, it seemed to be in pain.

Sparkle had recovered quickly, and aimed her yoyo.

“I won’t let you bully anyone else!”

With new determination, she smashed at the shadow. Finally, this one too disappeared.

Grasshop looked around, confused.

“Huh? Is it gone? Did I dream the whole thing?”

“I think it left,” said Sparkle, who was rather puzzled herself. "But, at least we're safe now."

“Kyu.”

“Umm…” Grasshop began, a nervous sweat forming on his forehead. “I’d better tell Buguese about this. But Princess, I have a very important mission for you, if you can handle it.”

She looked to him with a serious face.

“Sure. What is it?”

“Make sure my family is safe. If one of these things attacked, there could be more.”

“Sure, Uncle Hop!” she replied.

* * *

Grasshop made his way back to the Insector castle, hoping that indeed, his family was unharmed. On top of that, he didn't want Sparkle fighting against another shadow alone. But regardless, this was something he had to do. After the war, Buguese had restored his rank. Though the man still rather hated Grasshop, it was Mantid who had chosen to outright fire him. And Buguese understood he had a family to support.

“Lord… Buguese…” he began, once he’d found the man. “No, that always sounds too weird to say. Can’t I just call you Buguese?”

“Call me what you like,” Buguese replied in annoyance. “Why did you need to see me so urgently, Grasshop?”

“Let’s see,” he began. “Because Sparkle and I got attacked by this shadowy thing. We beat it, but it was really tough. I thought you would want to know about it.”

“What?!” Buguese exclaimed.

“It’s just like I told you,” replied Grasshop.

Buguese had a furious expression.

“I know _what_ it is, but why would it attack here?” He paused. “I knew this was a possibility, but I hoped the Insector land would not be bothered. Grasshop, for now, do not tell anyone about this. I need to think it through.”

“Uhh… if you say so,” he replied.

“Don’t tell anyone about what?” Beerain entered the room, interested.

Seeing her there, Buguese felt guilty. He realized he had to tell her, at least.

“Grasshop and Princess Sparkle were attacked while in Insector lands. Unless this is an isolated incident, it is possible we may have to go to war.”

She was shocked to hear this.

“But we can’t do that. After everything, we finally took back our green land. We are at peace at long last.”

“I know that,” replied Buguese. “In any case, keep quiet about this as well. Now, I must find Aqune.”

“Where is she?” Beerain wondered, surprised that she wasn’t hanging around Buguese.

“She went shopping,” Buguese replied. “There is a possibility,” Buguese continued, “That we were only attacked because of Sparkle’s presence here. Our best option may be to keep the Spider Riders in Arachna for now. And that includes Aqune.”

* * *

'Spirit Oracle…’ Aqune thought to herself, as she walked the bustling Insector marketplace. ‘Can you hear my wish? If you live inside me, then you must be able to hear it. The Inner World is a place whose peace I want to protect more than anything. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be doing now. Must I fight? I will do whatever is your will. Please guide me on the right path.’

Stopping, Aqune glanced at a stand selling fresh fruit.

‘This looks delicious,’ she thought. ‘Perfect for my recipe.’

Selecting various types of freshly-picked berries, the girl paid for them. But as she turned to leave, she felt someone grab her arm.

Concerned, she looked above her.

“Buguese…” she began. “Y-you scared me.”

“Sorry,” he said bluntly. “Aqune, let’s go. I have urgent matters to discuss with you, but this is not the place to do it.”

“R-right,” she replied, her voice concerned.

* * *

Buguese brought Aqune onto his snail-shaped transport, which was nearby. For a moment, he was silent, as he just watched her worriedly. This didn’t help to ease Aqune at all.

“Aqune,” he finally said. “Before, the Insector land was attacked.”

“No!” Aqune exclaimed. “You mean, by the shadows?”

“Yes,” said Buguese. “As far as I know, this was the only incident. It was Grasshop and Princess Sparkle who were attacked, but both are fine, and the enemy was defeated.”

“I’m glad they’re okay…” Aqune responded.

“Yes,” Buguese said. “However, I’m afraid they may have attacked us because the princess was a Spider Rider. The only way I can prove this is if the both of you leave the Insector lands for a while. Is that alright?”

“Uhh… y-yes,” Aqune replied. “I fear it isn’t that simple, but… that’s alright.”

“You are probably right,” Buguese said. “However, you are not the only one who wishes to avoid fighting. The Insector world cannot go to war again. Certainly not so soon.”

“It’s okay,” Aqune said. “I guess… the wedding plans will just have to wait for a little while. At least I’ll get to meet the new Spider Rider I’ve heard about.” Then she just stood there silently for a moment. “Actually, Buguese… I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?” he asked.

“About what I should do,” replied Aqune. “I’ve decided that I’ll take things however they come, even if it does mean I must fight again. The Inner World is important to the both of us. So, Buguese, let’s both do whatever we can to protect its people.”

“Yes, I agree,” Buguese answered, gazing at her figure lovingly.

Aqune reached up, kissing his lips.

“Perhaps I too will stay in Arachna for a while,” Buguese stated.

“Hm? But… can you really do that?” Aqune wondered. Of course, because Buguese was the emperor, his presence would be needed if the Insectors were attacked again.

“If it is not for too long, yes,” he replied. “The more power we have in Arachna, the sooner we can deal with this enemy, and keep them away from this nation.”

“Great!” said Aqune. The idea of being together with both Buguese and the Riders for once was perfect.


	8. The New Legend of Brade

**8- The New Legend of Brade**

Glint trailed behind as Magma was walking the streets of the Arachna castle town.

“Hey, any reason why we’re on an early morning walk?” she asked. “Is it part of your super secret training regimen?”

“Huh? No, this isn’t training,” Magma replied. “I just needed to cool down a bit, before I get too angry.” He wasn’t sure why the girl was following him, but she wasn't really bothering him.

“Do tell,” she replied, excitedly.

“It’s not that interesting,” Magma replied. “It’s… Buguese is in our castle, using our things. What right does he have to be there?”

“Eww… I really don’t know,” said Glint. “Insectors are so creepy.”

“More than Insectors, it’s him I don’t like,” said Magma. “He’s the reason it took so long to get Portia back. An even after we did get her back, then Aqune got engaged to him. It’s hopeless.”

“Ew! Ew! Ew!” Glint exclaimed. “Marrying an Insector?! Never! But, at least it keeps Aqune away from the rest of you. Maybe I should try hooking Corona up with an Insector boyfriend also.”

“You… you really don’t get it,” Magma mumbled.

“Hey, Magma!” The man looked up as he heard a familiar voice, only to see the head of the theatre troupe (and the biggest Brade fanboy he knew besides himself) running up to him.

“Ah, my comrade,” Magma said. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“Yes,” he replied. “But today, I’m seeing you for more than pleasure. I have an important announcement.”

“Is it about Brade?! Ooh, I can’t wait!” Magma exclaimed.

“Yes. Thanks to the great information you gave us, the theatre troupe has created a sequel to the legend of the Hero Brade play. It’s titled ‘The Second Coming of Brade- Brade Conquers the Insector Menace and Saves the World.’”

“Wonderful!” Magma shouted, his eyes glowing. “When do I get to see it?!”

“Our first performance is later today. Of course, for all the help you provided us in the past, you and the rest of the Spider Riders can have free admission. And any friends you want to bring too,” he added, noticing the unfamiliar blue-haired girl.

“Okay!” declared Magma. “I’ll make sure everyone is here to see history made!”

“Wow, now that’s enthusiasm,” Glint commented in fascination.

* * *

“A new play on the Hero Brade?” Hunter wondered. “Well, that does sound pretty fun.”

“Oh, I’ve never seen a play before,” Aqune commented. “May I please come?”

“Of course,” Magma said. “All of you are invited to come for free.”

Aqune smiled. “This is great. Hey, Buguese, please come with us too.”

“Why?” he asked. “I don’t care about what the irritating Hero Brade does.”

“He’s not so bad,” Aqune replied. But, she looked sad. “I wanted you to come with me.”

“Fine, if I must,” replied the Insector.

“No matter how I look at it, this is going to be a chore,” Richter commented. “Doubt I’ll even learn anything useful.”

* * *

And thus, the group of Spider Riders, plus Glint and Buguese, were seated in the front row at the small theatre. It wasn’t long before the curtain was raised, and the actors appeared on the stage.

“Hm…” Igneous commented, as he glanced at them. “I see Hunter, Corona, Magma, Lumen and Sparkle. But… where’s me?”

“Oh,” replied the troupe leader, who also sat in the audience. “Well, we didn’t have enough actors for all the roles, so we came to the collective decision that the character of Igenous just wasn’t important enough.”

“What?!” he yelled. “I was very important!”

“Please, just remain quiet and enjoy the show,” the man replied.

Though Igneous was twitching in anger, he complied.

“Weak little humans, you will all perish!” an evil-sounding voice yelled. On stage appeared an actor dressed as Grasshop.

“Oh no! An Insector!” Actor-Hunter shouted, a terrified look on his face.

At that, Actor-Grasshop began to pound the helpless team of Spider Riders.

“Wait…” said Hunter. “We’re getting beat up… by Grasshop?!”

“Uncle Hop was on our side!” Sparkle added. “This is cruel!”

“Wait, Spider Riders! I will save you!”

The booming voice of Actor-Brade could be heard, and finally, he appeared before them.

“Yes!” cheered Magma. “Hero Brade-sama!”

“Some people are just too evil to have the evil from their hearts ripped out,” Brade spoke. At that, he quickly slaughtered Grasshop.

“Thank you, Hero Brade. You saved us,” said Actor-Hunter.

“A kiss for the hero,” added Actor-Corona, who then gave Brade a big smooch.

“Wh-why…?” muttered the real Corona from the audience.

“Wait! Another kiss for the hero,” said Actor-Sparkle, who copied Corona.

“Sparkle, nooooo!” Lumen yelled. He had actually been half-asleep for the whole beginning of the play, but this was enough to jolt him out of it. As for the real Sparkle, she was too busy crying over Grasshop’s death to even notice the scene.

“Now,” said Actor-Brade. “We need the eighth Spider Rider.”

On cue, Actor-Buguese and Actor-Aqune appeared on stage.

“Muwahahahahahahahaha!” laughed Actor-Buguese. “We Insectors will destroy not only the Inner World, but all life in the universe. You will never save this mere slave girl.”

“Ahhhh! Save me, Hero Brade!” yelled Actor-Aqune in a shrill voice.

“Destroy the universe?!” Buguese exclaimed, standing up in his chair. “What blasphemy is this?!”

“Buguese, wait!” said Aqune, who grabbed him by the arm when she noticed he was about to run up to the stage.

“Let go, Aqune!” he shouted.

“No…” Aqune replied, who was gripped as tightly as possible to Buguese. “It… it’s all just fake.” Not that she really was thrilled with it either, but she didn’t want Buguese proving the writers’ point.

“Never fear!” Actor-Brade yelled. “I will kill this monster too.” And quickly, Actor-Buguese was obliterated.

“Brade, you are so strong and cool,” said Actor-Hunter.

“Thank you!” said Actor-Aqune. “Now, a kiss for the hero.” Then, she gave Brade his third kiss of the day.

“Last, we must defeat the terrible Mantid,” Actor-Brade announced.

“But he’s so powerful,” Actor-Lumen spoke. “Whatever will we do?”

“We must use the Oracle Keys,” answered Actor-Brade. “Only they can crush the Insector menace permanently.”

“Hero Brade, you can have them,” said Actor-Hunter. “This task is only fitting for you.”

“Alright!” Magma exclaimed. “Here comes Hero Brade-sama’s big heroic moment.”

“I was the one who used the Oracle Keys!” shouted Hunter, who was probably the only one paying any attention to the play anymore, besides Richter who didn’t want to come to begin with, and Glint.

“You will never defeat true evil,” said Actor-Mantid, who had now entered stage, complete with lightning effects.

“Never underestimate the power of the Hero Brade,” yelled Actor-Brade, who then flashed the Oracle Keys before Mantid, and transformed with them.

“No, not the Oracle Keys!” screamed Actor-Mantid like a little girl. “I… I surrender!”

“I don’t trust the lies of evil Insectors,” Actor-Brade declared.

“By the way, Mantid is a human,” Hunter whispered to the troupe leader.

“This blow will save the world!” shouted Actor-Brade.

“Go, Hero Brade! Save us!” the actor Spider Riders yelled in unison.

“Gladly,” said Brade, who also obliterated Mantid in a single attack.

“And so…” spoke the narrator. “Once again, the day is saved, thanks to the wonderful efforts of the Hero Brade.” Then, the curtain fell.

“Bravo! Bravo!” Magma cheered, as tears streamed from his eyes. “You’ve outdone yourselves with this one.” He looked at the others, who were all too stunned or miserable. “Everyone, applaud!”

“Yeah!” Glint said, and began clapping. She then walked up to the chief. “I, for one, think you did an excellent job. Though, I have one piece of criticism.”

“What’s that?” the leader asked, a bit skeptical after all the previous critique.

“You should have given Hunter a greater role!” she shouted. “I mean, Brade is an old guy. He’s not really hot. I thought it was kind of out-of-character for all those girls to want to kiss him.”

“I’d kiss the Hero Brade over anyone!” Magma exclaimed.

"Yes, we all would," agreed the troupe leader.

“Hey, Richter,” said Hunter. “You weren’t around for all this, so, what did you think?”

“I think you wasted my day,” he answered. “This was a bad idea.”

“Well, at least Magma liked it,” Hunter said. Nonetheless, he was more than ready to go home and try to forget all about this play.


	9. Richter’s Secret

**9- Richter’s Secret**

Richter stood facing a tall man. He had a stern, intimidating air to him.

“You…” the Rider spoke, trying to stay composed, though he felt his body begin to shake. "Now what?"

“Boy…” the man replied. “You must be enjoying the Inner World, aren’t you? I think it’s better than everything I imagined.”

* * *

With a start, the boy woke up in his bed.

“That man…” he said. “Even in my dreams, he haunts me.”

Throwing away the covers, he stood and reached for the manacle which sat on a countertop beside him.

“Wave, I’ve wasted so much time playing here. I think it’s time we go and pay someone a visit.”

“Who?” the spider asked.

“If you don't know, I don’t care to answer any more than that,” said the boy. “Just keep doing as I say.” Richter was at least glad that if he had to have a spider companion, he was a loyal and useful one.

“Yes, sir,” Wave replied.

It was still night in the castle, though the morning light was beginning to rise. At least everyone would be sleeping, Richter thought. Well, that wasn’t quite the case. In the halls, he saw the blue-haired girl who usually paid him no mind.

“Eh…” she mumbled, sleepily. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Richter replied.

“Simple,” she answered. “I want to get a good view at Hunter’s sleeping figure.”

‘Ugh, I shouldn’t have asked,’ he thought to himself. But without another word, he ran down the stairs.

* * *

“Hey, have any of you guys seen Richter around?” Igneous asked. The Spider Riders were beginning to gather around the table for breakfast.

“Hmm…” Hunter replied. “He’s probably still asleep. Did you check his room?”

“Yes,” Igneous said. “He isn’t there. I specifically requested that he join me today in an early-morning training session. He kept me waiting in the cold.”

“That is weird, then,” Corona commented. “I guess we could search around the castle for him, if you don’t mind training him now instead.”

Igneous scowled.

“The training doesn’t matter. But for all our sakes, we’d best look for him, and keep an eye on him.”

“I know where he is!” Glint declared.

“Really?” Hunter looked at her, anxiously.

“Actually, not where, exactly,” she corrected herself. “But I saw him leave really early. Maybe I should have followed him. This is my fault, isn’t it?”

“I don’t see how it’s your fault,” Aqune said. “You didn’t know he was going to disappear for this long.”

“No, it’s definitely my responsibility!” Glint declared. “I may not be a Spider Rider, but I am your ally. Therefore, I’ll go and find him, and bring him back here. I’ll find out what he’s up to.”

She ran to the door.

“Hey, wait!” Hunter said.

“Sorry,” Glint shouted. “Perhaps when I come back successfully, you can reward me, if you know what I mean?” And at that, she was out the door.

“I… don’t think I want to know what she means,” said Hunter.

“Listen,” Igneous said. “We may not know for sure whether or not Richter is responsible for the attacks lately. But if he is, sending out an unarmed girl to go after him is a very dangerous thing to do.”

“Yeah, I agree,” said Corona. “Hunter, why don’t we go after her?”

“Yeah,” Hunter said. “Don’t worry, everyone. We’ll return with both Glint and Richter. It will be alright.”

* * *

“Hmm…” Glint began to ponder out loud, as she began her search for the missing Rider. “If I were him, where would I go?”

Her eyes lit up when she saw an unusual trail in the dirt.

“Perhaps a spider went by here,” she said. “In that case, I think I found the answer I was looking for!”

And thus, she followed the trail left behind, until she reached an isolated cottage just outside a forest.

‘Well this is interesting,’ she thought to herself. Sneaking closer to it, she peered into the window.

Inside the building, Richter stood. However, he was not alone. He appeared to be having a serious conversation with an older-looking man. The man shared Richter’s bright red hair color, though his was much more clean-cut.

“I wonder what they’re saying,” she muttered to herself. “Stupid walls.”

Then, she noticed Richter turn his head.

“Shoot!” Glint ducked quickly, hoping that she hadn’t been noticed. A hope which wasn’t fulfilled.

‘That’s…’ Richter thought, his teeth clenched. ‘No! What is that girl doing here?’

“Glint!” Hunter called. He and Corona had discovered the same trail as the girl, and quickly caught up to her.

“Ah, you’re here, Hunter!” she shouted. “Oh, you brought along that Corona? Well, whatever.”

Trying not to get angry at the girl, Corona spoke, “Glint, what did you find?”

“Richter’s in there,” she said. “Talking to somebody, but I don’t know who.”

“Then let’s go and find out!” Hunter declared, as he ran to the cottage’s door.

“Hunter, wait!” Corona shouted, but knowing it was futile, she followed after him.

“Ah, look at this,” the older man spoke. “We have some visitors.”

“Who are you?!” Hunter asked.

“Me?” the man answered. “Well, that would be none of your business. But I’m sure you’ve been introduced to Richter already. I can tell by the manacles that you're Spider Riders too.” Then, he turned to his acquaintance. “Boy, why don’t you deal with them?”

“Fine,” said Richter. “Wave, Spider Out!”

Wave was released right outside the building.

“Go ahead and do your thing,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Wave replied. A dark glow came around the spider. And then, before him, a shadow Rider emerged.

“R-Richter, you…” Hunter began, though he was at a loss for words. It was Wave who was creating the shadows?

“I don’t think there’s a need for me right now,” said the older man. Reaching for his pocket, he pulled out a small, box-shaped black device. Then, all of a sudden, he vanished.

“What?!” Corona exclaimed, as she witnessed this.

“Ahhhh!” Glint, who was closest to the shadow, became its first target. It leapt at her, pinning her to the ground.

“No!” Hunter exclaimed, shocked to see this. He glanced at Richter for a moment, annoyed, but knew that he could wait. Saving Glint had to come first.

Not bothering to spend time transforming, Hunter ran toward the shadow, his intent to push it off the girl. Unfortunately, he didn’t have quite enough force in his normal form.

“Save me! Please!” yelled Glint, as she squirmed around, attempting to break free.

“I’m trying!” Hunter called. “Just hang on!”

But then, something even more unexpected happened. The figure of the Spider Rider shadow began to melt around Glint, and Hunter as well.

“Hey! What is this?!” Hunter yelled, though he could barely move as the blackness covered him. He saw Richter from the corner of his eye, looking totally indifferent.

“Hunter!” Corona exclaimed, making no delay to run towards her comrade. She had just finished transforming herself, in an attempt to back Hunter up. Unfortunately, by the time she reached them, the shadow disappeared, taking both Hunter and Glint with it. For a moment, she could only stare in shock. But it was a brief moment.

“What did you do?!” Corona shouted. She turned to Richter angrily, holding out her aimed weapon.

“What does it matter?” Richter replied.

“Where is Hunter?!” Corona asked again, angrily.

“No idea,” Richter answered. “Really, I mean it. I have no idea. Didn’t even know Wave could do that. Maybe he’s dead”

“Calm down, Corona,” Venus called, concerned that her partner’s normal cool had been broken. "I'm sure Hunter is alive, and we will find him."

Corona was unhappy with the situation, but she lowered her bow. Even if Richter had betrayed them, killing him really wasn’t the answer, she knew that.

“Honestly,” Richter said. “This could have been avoided if you fools didn’t follow after me.” His voice was cold, and his face uncaring.


	10. Lost

**10- Lost**

Sitting behind a desk was the man with short red hair. He was tossing up and down the black box into his hand.

“So, the enhancement worked as well as I hoped on that spider,” he said in amusement. “Good. I think it's about time I move on to the next phase of my plan.”

* * *

“Tell me one thing,” Corona said. Just because she wasn’t physically threatening Richter anymore didn’t take away the anger from her voice.

“Try me,” Richter replied.

“Why did you betray us?”

“Betray you?” Richter asked, actually laughing. It felt like an odd question to him. “You consider this betrayal? From the start, I was never interested in joining you. It was just simpler that way.”

“But all along, you were working for that man,” Corona continued, while she tried to register his words, piece the situation together.

“No, that’s not right either,” answered Richter. “Don’t insult me! I would never work for that man. He’s doing his own thing, and I’m doing mine.”

“Well, who is he?” Corona asked.

“A monster,” Richter replied. “If you don’t know him, you don’t want to know him. Just like you don’t really want to know me.” He scowled, and began to turn away. But to his surprise, Corona grabbed hold of his wrist.p>

“Let go!” he shouted.

“No,” Corona replied. “I’m going to find Hunter, and you’re coming too.”

“Why’s that?” Richter asked. “You know I might just stab you in the back.”

“Because this is your fault, and Hunter trusted you,” answered Corona. “At the very least, when we find him, you owe him an explanation.”

“How do you know we’ll find him?” asked Richter, annoyed. "I told you he's probably dead."

“Because I’m an Oracle Handmaiden,” replied Corona. "Right now, I can sense that he's alive."

* * *

“Where are we?” Hunter wondered, as he looked at the scene around him. Suddenly, it appeared that he and Glint had found themselves in a forest.

“Hunter, this is terrible!” Glint exclaimed. “I don’t know where we are! What if we get lost forever, and die of starvation, or something worse happens to us… On second thought, being stranded alone together with you seriously must be a romantic flag! This could be a stroke of luck!” She latched herself onto Hunter’s arm, grinning.

“Glint, we’re not going to die,” Hunter said. “Now, would you mind letting go of my arm? We need to look for a way out.”

“Oh, alright,” Glint answered, pouting.

“Hey, Shadow,” Hunter spoke, as he started walking aimlessly.

“Yeah?” Shadow questioned.

“This isn’t the Forest of Bewilderment again, right?” Probably not, but it was a pretty grim thought.

“I doubt it,” said Shadow. “The cabin was right outside a forest, though it is a fairly deep one. As long as we go in the right direction, we’ll probably be able to find Corona soon.”

“I guess so,” said Hunter. “But, I hope she’s alright. What if Richter attacked her too?” The thought worried him a lot. “And… why would he attack us in the first place? He is a Spider Rider. And, that man… who was he?”

“I don’t know the answer to your questions,” replied Shadow. “But we can easily find out if Corona is safe. Why don’t you try calling to her with the manacle?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea!” he replied. He was too worried to even think of it, despite it being fairly obvious. “Thanks, Shadow!”

“Wahhhh!”

“Uh… I’ll do it in a minute, anyway.” Hunter’s plan was stopped when he heard Glint yell. He’d thought she was right behind him, but apparently not.

“Glint, where are you?!” Hunter called.

“I… I fell into a big hole,” she groaned. “It really hurts. Please, save me!”

“Good grief,” Shadow sighed. “This girl is a walking hazard.”

Hunter laughed nervously, not really being able to object.

“I’m coming!” he called. Quickly, he found the hole, which was rather big. Still, he jumped right in. “Shadow, I just need you to pull us up.”

“Right,” he replied, as he shot thread down to the hole. Taking Glint by one hand, Hunter took the thread with the other, and the two were soon pulled out.

“Thank you so much!” exclaimed Glint, who grabbed the boy in a tight hug. “Oh, but I’m hurt so very much. I guess you’ll have to carry me now.”

“You don’t sound hurt,” Shadow said, who proceeded to shove her off of Hunter. The spider wondered if she’d fallen into the hole on purpose.

* * *

“I can feel him!” Corona exclaimed. As she and Richter searched, she was constantly focused on Hunter’s presence. Finally, she felt she was getting close. And it was then when her manacle lit up, and Hunter’s voice echoed through.

“Corona! Corona, can you hear me?”

“Hunter!” she shouted. “Yes, I can hear you. I’m coming to find you.”

“So, you’re safe?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. “What about you?”

“We’re fine too,” Hunter answered. “Glint and Shadow and I.”

“That’s good,” Corona sighed in relief. “Just stay where you are, and I’ll be there shortly.” She decided not to mention just yet that Richter was with her.

* * *

Soon, Corona spotted Hunter up ahead.

“I’m glad!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him.

“Corona…” Hunter said, holding her too.

“Wait! Richter?” Hunter caught sight of the boy behind Corona. The two quickly let each other go.

“What?” Richter asked, scowling.

“I want to talk,” Hunter said, moving closer to the boy. “What is going on? Why have you been attacking people, and who was that man you were with?”

“Maybe _I_ don’t want to talk!” Richter yelled. He looked over to his spider. “Wave, we’re leaving.”

“Not yet!” Corona declared, now aiming her weapon once more. “There must be some explanation to this.”

“Please, aren’t we all Spider Riders?” Hunter said. “Aren’t we comrades?”

“Comrades?” Richter asked. “When I’m through with you, you’ll be corpses. But not today!”

Then, Wave shot out a giant web, knocking both Hunter and Corona backwards. Using that opportunity, Richter jumped onto his spider’s back, and took off.

“We have to go after him!” Hunter said, rising. He easily brushed the web off of him.

“No!” Glint yelled. “Don’t forget me! I’m hurt, remember?”

Hunter sighed.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to go after him in the first place?”

“Yeah,” replied Glint. “But that was before I knew how mean and scary he was. Who needs him anyway?”

“But he’s….” Hunter began. But he wasn’t sure what to say. It wasn’t like he could really defend Richter.

“Hunter…” spoke Corona, concerned.

“Alright,” Hunter decided. “Let’s go back for now. We should tell the others about what happened. At least Igneous will be happy to know he was right this time.”

“I guess so,” said Corona. “But then, we have to find Richter, and that man.”

“Yeah, he seemed really suspicious,” Hunter responded. “Maybe, he’s using Richter.”

“I don’t think that’s the case,” replied Corona, looking down. “Richter told me that he wasn’t working for that man. He seemed to really hate him. It’s weird though, because then why would Richter run off to meet him?”

“This is turning into a real mystery,” Shadow chimed in.

“So,” Glint interrupted. “Hunter, aren’t you going to carry me back home?”

“What?!” Both Hunter and Corona exclaimed.

“Hey, you promised you would,” argued Glint.

“No I didn’t,” said Hunter.

“But… well… fine. But it hurts so much! Ow!”

“Then, ride on a spider with us,” Hunter suggested. “I don’t think I could carry you anyway. No offense, but I’ve never tried carrying someone before, and you’re taller than me.”

“There’s a first time for everything, right?” she asked.

“Listen, we’re not far from home,” Corona said. “If you’re hurt, I’m sure Aqune will heal you when we get back.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll try to make it there on spider-back,” Glint sighed. "But being healed by a girl is no fun. Aren't there any boy handmaidens?"

“Why do I get the feeling I’ll have to be the one ferrying this drama queen?” Shadow groaned.


	11. The Hidden Enemy

**11- The Hidden Enemy**

Once Hunter and Corona had spilled the news of Richter’s betrayal, the atmosphere at Arachna castle had easily turned bleak.

“I knew it!” Igneous shouted, his fist connecting hard with the nearest wall. “I shouldn’t have trusted him, or expected anything of him even for a minute.”

“I’m just disappointed,” Hunter replied. “He’s a Spider Rider, just like us. Spirit Oracle gave him power to fight for this world, so why would he use it to hurt people?”

“I agree,” Aqune said. “It’s hard to comprehend.”

“There’s one more problem,” Corona stated.

“Now what?” Magma wondered, already feeling down enough.

“There was a man talking to Richter in the cottage. I don’t know who he was, but there was something really unsettling about him. Even Richter called him a monster.”

“What did this man look like?” Igneous asked.

“Well, he was tall,” began Corona. “He had short red hair. He was dressed in a really expensive looking suit.”

“I’ll go and find him!” Igneous declared. “Prince, please come with me.”

“Huh?” said Lumen. “What for? And why me?”

“If he’s an acquaintance of Richter, then he may have the answers we need,” answered Igneous. “And I’d like your support. Hunter and Corona should stay here and rest for a while. But I need someone strong I can rely on.”

“And you think that’s me?” Lumen asked, not sure if he should be flattered.

“Of course,” said Igneous.

“Well, alright then,” Lumen said. “I suppose this is a serious matter, so you can count on me.”

“I’m grateful,” Igneous replied.

“Be careful,” said Glint. “I’d hate to lose any more Spider Riders.”

“We will,” replied Igneous. “But I truly misjudged this time. I’ll do whatever it takes to correct my mistake!”

* * *

“Buguese…” Aqune spoke. “What do you think?”

The two leaned against the walls outside the castle, their hands clasped together. Aqune was still hoping to make some kind of sense out of the situation.

“At least we know who our enemy is,” Buguese replied. “It should not be too hard to defeat one Spider Rider, and that other human.”

“I suppose,” replied Aqune. “But it’s never right for Spider Riders to fight against each other. I wonder if there’s another way.”

“I agree, Aqune!”

Hearing another voice, Aqune and Buguese let go of each other as a reflex. In front of them was Princess Sparkle.

“You were our enemy too, and now you’re our friend,” Sparkle continued.

“That’s true,” Aqune replied. “But the circumstances were a little different. From the start, I never wanted to fight against you.”

“Maybe Richter doesn’t want to fight either,” Sparkle argued.

“I can’t say for sure if you’re right,” replied Aqune. “But I’m glad that you haven’t lost hope.”

Buguese was simply watching Aqune, but decided not to say anything. However, he turned away when he heard the sounds of a messenger bug approaching.

“Pipipipipipipipi” the bug began chirping.

“What did it say?” Aqune asked, noticing that Buguese did not look happy.

“Shadows were spotted in the Insector lands,” replied Buguese. “I am returning there immediately.”

“I see,” Aqune replied, disappointed that her instinct was correct. “I’m coming with you.”

“Oh no!” said Sparkle. “Is Uncle Hop and everyone okay?”

“I don’t know,” Aqune replied. “But we'll find out. Tell the others that we’re going. I’m sure they should know too.”

“Okay,” Sparkle agreed.

* * *

“So this is the place?” Lumen asked, as he and Igneous stood in front of the cottage. “Looks like a cozy spot for a nap.”

“Please be serious,” Igneous replied. He put his hand on the doorknob, but was reluctant to turn it right away. “We should be prepared for anything that might be inside.”

“Got it,” answered Lumen.

“Hello!” Igneous called, as he finally opened the door. The fact that it was unlocked was a bad sign already, though. Was he expecting company?

“I don’t see anyone,” Lumen commented, as he glanced around.

Though the cottage was small, it was well-furnished. There was a bed, a couch, an office area, and a stove among other things. In the office was a shelf filled with many books. Definitely, someone had been living there.

“Even if he’s not here, there could still be a clue,” Igneous spoke. “Look for anything unusual.”

“Right,” Lumen replied, grabbing a book off the shelf. “Hmm…” he skimmed through the pages.

“Anything useful?” asked Igneous.

“It’s a book of fairy tales,” Lumen replied, putting it aside. “Maybe this one.”

But after just a glance at the cover, he put that book down as well. “This one is a history book.”

“Hmm…” Igneous began studying the spines of the books, for anything of remote use.

“All of them are books about the Inner World,” he said. “Either the genuine history, or just the myths.” He grabbed one off the shelf which was about Brade. “Maybe Magma would like to read this one.”

“But in short, there’s not a single clue here, is there?” Lumen spoke.

“Maybe there is,” replied Igneous. “Keep searching. I’m not ready to give up.”

"Yeah, yeah," Lumen answered, obviously disappointed with that answer.

* * *

Outside of the Insector castle was two shadows. Some people were watching them in horror, from a safe distance away.

“You get away!” Grasshop yelled, swatting at one with his dagger. However, it wasn’t doing a great deal of good, and Grasshop himself was too afraid of it to fight it much harder.

‘Oh man…’ he thought to himself. ‘I’m probably done for. I hope the next life is pleasant at least.’

But then, Buguese and Aqune leapt down from the sky, each striking at one of the shadows. With the force of their attacks, both shadows disappeared.

“Buguese! I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad to see you,” Grasshop exclaimed, then bowed at the Insector leader’s feet.

“I hope I’m not too late,” Buguese replied, mostly ignoring Grasshop and surveying the area. “Was anyone hurt?”

“Nope,” Grasshop said. “But, I probably would have been if not for you.”

“At least everyone who matters is safe,” Buguese replied.

“So what do we do now, Buguese?” Grasshop asked. He was a bit insulted, and that showed from his tone of voice. “The Insector world was attacked, and there weren’t any Spider Riders around. Do we go to war? I sure hope not.”

“No, there is no need for war,” said Buguese. “I now know who is responsible for these attacks. It is the new Spider Rider, called Richter. There will be nothing to worry about as long as he is dealt with.”

* * *

From a distance away, Richter watched, growling in frustration.

“No matter what I do, these fools keep getting in my way. I thought I’d have no problem destroying the Insectors!” His fists were tightly clenched. “Forget this! Let’s go, Wave!”

“Yes sir,” he replied.

* * *

“I’m sorry, Igneous,” Lumen said. “But, I searched everywhere. There’s nothing suspicious at all. Although…” he paused.

“What?” Igneous asked.

“If I could use this nice, warm-looking bed for a nap, maybe this experience will all be worth it.”

“That’s not going to happen,” said Igneous, grabbing the prince’s hand. “Let’s go back to the castle. At the very least, we have one thing to report.”

“Which is?” Lumen asked, confused.

“The man who lives here is really interested in researching the Inner World,” replied Igneous. “Though we don’t know what he intends to do with that knowledge, it could still be a dangerous weapon.”

“I see,” Lumen replied. “Impressive, Igneous.”

* * *

“Good. They’re finally gone.” Once he was certain that Igneous and Lumen were a good distance away, the man returned to his house. “Seems they did make a mess of things though.”

He grabbed the books that were put aside, and placed them back on the shelf.

“At least they didn’t look at this one.” He pulled a thin blue book off the shelf, and quickly turned through the pages. The book was one about Spirit Oracle.

“The best of legends are the ones which are true,” he said. “Like the legend of the Oracle’s reincarnation, who lives in this world today.”


	12. Stolen Oracle

**12- Stolen Oracle**

A day had passed by since Igneous and Lumen’s investigation. With Lumen being the one exception, the team had been too on-edge to get a particularly good night’s sleep, though. Early in the morning, they all found themselves gathering in the meeting room.

“You guys…” Corona said. “Last night, I was thinking a lot about that man. What if, the reason he was researching the Inner World so much is because he’s an Earthen like Richter?”

“Actually, I was wondering about that too!” Hunter exclaimed. “Richter said he fell into the Inner World, but he could have been lying. Maybe he came here with that man, somehow.”

“Well, whether or not that’s true, it doesn’t tell us anything about their objectives,” said Igneous. “We need to find one or both of them, and question them.”

“Perhaps,” Lumen said. “But what will stop them from just lying to us?”

“I know that,” said Igneous, frustrated. “We need a real plan, and adequate rest. It’s likely we’ll end up having to fight again soon.”

“Got it!” Hunter replied.

"Well I don't like this one bit," Glint commented. Not that there was anything she could do.

* * *

Of course, it wasn’t just the Riders at Arachna who were tense. Buguese was not interested in resting either.

The Insector leader had begun searching early that morning for any signs of Richter, or the shadows. It was a search that he’d started the previous day, and had only taken one very short break from.

“Buguese,” Aqune called worriedly, as she followed behind him. “I know it’s important that we find Richter, but you don’t have to push yourself. He may not even be in the Insector lands anymore.”

“As long as there is a chance he’s here, I must find him before he can cause any more damage, my dear,” Buguese replied. “You don’t need to come with me, but it is my responsibility to take care of this nation.”

“It’s mine as well,” Aqune replied.

“What do you mean?” he asked, surprised.

“Well,” she began. “Because I’m a Spider Rider, and an Oracle Handmaiden. So I have to help out everyone in trouble. But also…” She paused, her face turning red. “I’m going to be your wife,” her voice was softer now. “Wouldn’t that make me just as responsible for this country?”

“That’s…” Buguese began, but he wasn’t sure if he could protest. Though he felt the burden was his alone, Aqune did make a valid point.

“And also, I have to take care of you. Seeing you get so stressed is troubling. Just like how when I had my doubts about fighting, you were there for me, now, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Aqune,” Buguese replied. He reached over, resting his hand on her shoulder. For a moment, he did feel calmer.

“Buguese, for just a little while, let’s go somewhere quiet and breathe,” Aqune suggested. “Then, we’ll get back to searching as hard as we can.”

He stared at her for a moment, pondering the options.

“Alright,” said Buguese. “But only for a little while. If we hear anything unusual, then we must leave immediately.”

“Sure,” said Aqune, smiling.

* * *

Buguese and Aqune went through a wooded area, to a small clearing. There was a lake there, and even Buguese had to admit the way the sun reflected over the water looked lovely. He’d never noticed this place in the years when they had no light. It just seemed like another dirty and useless swamp. But Aqune had found it one day not long ago, and showed it to him.

“Soon, I’m sure we’ll have peaceful days again,” Aqune said, as she sat looking into the lake.

“We will,” Buguese agreed. “But only by fighting for them.”

All of a sudden, Aqune rose to her feet. She felt a strange feeling. Someone, or something was nearby.

“Is something wrong?” asked Buguese.

In a flash, something large flew out from the trees, striking her. The girl was sent flying backwards.

“Aqune!” Buguese exclaimed, shocked. He ran to her, and kneeled down by her side. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” she stuttered, trying to stand back up. “But what was that?”

“Ah, that was my spider,” a man said, as he stepped out before them. He was the man from the cottage.

“A spider?!” Aqune exclaimed, though she noticed there was a large grey and hairy spider behind her. How could something that size possibly move so fast? Really, that wasn’t the most important thing to be concerned about though. “You’re a Spider Rider?”

“No, there are only eight of those,” replied the man. “And the boy, Richter, is the newest one. I’m sure you were already acquainted with him. But anyway, this spider is one of the only survivors of my experiments. Experiments to enhance the powers of a spider.”

“That’s cruel…” Aqune said, stunned by what she was hearing. “Spiders are living things.”

“Tell me who you are?!” Buguese was less concerned by what he was doing to spiders, and more irritated at him for attacking Aqune.

“Fine. I suppose that is the polite thing to do,” he answered. “My name is Siegfried. I’m a researcher, and I’m looking for the Oracle’s reincarnation. You haven’t seen her around, have you?”

Aqune tensed up, hearing this. He was looking for her? And, he must have known she was the one, if he’d come here and attacked.

“I won’t let you touch Aqune!” Buguese declared, standing in front of her with his sword in hand.

“Oh really?” replied Siegfried. He pointed to the grey spider.

Then, the spider shot a web at Buguese from the side, with enough force to push him into a tree.

“Buguese!” Aqune exclaimed. She tried to run towards him, but the grey spider got there first, standing in her way.

Irritated, the Insector struggled to push the webs away from him. But it was unusually difficult.

“You’re not going to escape so easily,” said Siegfried. “The webs of my enhanced spider are special, you see. Your energy will slowly be sucked away. So the more you struggle, the more useless it will become.”

“I don’t care!” Buguese declared, who was still attempting to escape. “I will protect Aqune.”

“You’re the one who needs to be protected,” replied Siegfried. The giant spider moved closer to Buguese, pushing one of its legs to his neck. 

“Now, Aqune,” said Siegfried. “If you don’t want me to kill him, you’ll do exactly as I say.”

Aqune glanced to him, and to Buguese. She obviously couldn’t let Buguese be killed. But on the other hand, she didn’t know just what this man, who experimented on spiders, intended to do to her. If he wanted her powers as the Oracle, then he could do anything he wanted, possibly jeopardizing more lives than just Buguese’s. However, the girl had one idea.

“Portia! Spider Out!” she yelled. She released the purple spider from her manacle, who charged at the grey spider, knocking him away from Buguese. Then, she came closer to him, and began to start pulling the webs away.

“So, you’ll resist me?” Siegfried asked.

The grey spider, who quickly recovered, sent Portia flying away with a single swipe. Then, launching a thread, it caught Aqune by the arm. The girl was knocked to the ground, as the spider reeled her closer.

“Portia…” she said, worried. Her spider seemed to be pretty hurt. “Spider in.”

“Aqune!” yelled Buguese. Regretfully, she hadn’t had the chance to undo enough of the web, and Buguese was beginning to feel extremely exhausted.

“What do you want with me?!” Aqune shouted, as she tried to break loose with her free hand. She did succeed briefly, only for the spider to use the chance to attack with more thread from the other side. Aqune realized she wouldn’t be able to escape so easily.

“Well…” replied Siegfried. “I could tell you but, I don’t think it’s going to make a bit of difference if I do.”

Moving closer to Aqune, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to a standing position. With his free hand, he took from his pocket the black box. “It’s time we go now. After all, I can’t let my years of research be for nothing.”

“Never!” Buguese yelled. Somehow, he had freed himself from the webs. Though it was obvious it was struggle for him even to stand, he started to stagger closer to where Aqune was.

Seeing Buguese, Aqune wanted to be happy, but she was too worried.

“Don’t…” Aqune said. “You can’t fight like this. I’ll… go with him.”

Ignoring her protest, Buguese aimed his sword at Siegfried. However, he simply grabbed it, and threw the Insector down onto the back of the grey spider.

“Actually,” Siegfried said. “You get to come with me too. I’m surprised that you managed to escape. I think someone with a will that impressive would be very useful to me.”

Then, using the black box in his hand, light surrounded the four of them. They vanished from that spot.

* * *

“So that’s how strong he’s gotten?” From a short distance away, Richter watched from the treetops. “Wave, it looks like we’ll have to take some more drastic measures.”

“Yes sir,” the spider replied.


	13. Darkness Approaching

**13- Darkness Approaching**

Hunter and Corona were currently the only two in the castle’s lounge area. They had been sitting there for a while, working on strategizing like Igneous had instructed, but even with the help of their spiders, they hadn’t gotten anywhere worthwhile. Hunter was mostly too frustrated that he couldn’t go out and just do _something_.

Then, Corona gasped, and suddenly stood up.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Hunter asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Corona replied. “All of a sudden, I got a really terrible feeling. I don’t know what it was though.”

“I knew waiting around was a bad thing,” complained Hunter.

“I’m sorry,” said Corona. “But we have to wait until Magma and Igneous get back from their patrol at least.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Hunter groaned. His mood wasn’t eased at all.

Just then, Igneous and Magma walked into the room, however.

“Alright!” shouted Hunter. “We were waiting? Did you find anything?”

“Calm down, Hunter,” Magma spoke. “And… unfortunately no.”

“Then, it’s our turn!” Hunter said. “We did come to one conclusion, and that’s the fact that Richter was last seen in the Insector world. Therefore, that’s where I want to go.”

“I can’t sense him now,” Corona added. “That’s why I believe he’s somewhere pretty far away.”

“You might be right,” said Igneous. “In that case, it is a good idea for you to go over there. Though I doubt Aqune knows anything new, since she hasn’t reported to us, it wouldn’t hurt to ask her.”

“Yeah,” said Hunter. “I’ll go see Aqune first.”

“I’ll come too,” Magma said. “I understand how you feel, Hunter, because I’d get pretty anxious too just waiting around at a time like this. And of course, Corona, you’re coming too, right?”

“Yeah,” Corona said.

“Wait for me!” Glint called.

“When did you get here?” Hunter asked.

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” replied Glint. Chew marks all over her sleeve were clearly visible.

“Umm…” Corona replied. “We were honestly just sitting here.”

“Together,” she added. “And you didn’t invite me.” She began gnawing on the side of the couch, as fake tears poured from her eyes.

“Glint,” Igneous said. “It would be best if you stay here this time.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“If Hunter and the others do find Richter, it could be dangerous,” he answered. “You’re not a Spider Rider, so it would be safer if you stay in the castle.”

“Oh? Because you want to protect me?” she wondered, her eyes glittering.

“Yes, we will protect you if something happens,” replied Igneous.

* * *

A while later, Hunter’s group had made it to the Insector nation.

“You know,” Hunter said. “Even though we're at peace, it still feels kind of ominous to come to this castle.”

“I agree with that,” Shadow replied.

“At least it’s much prettier here than it used to be,” Corona added.

The group was a bit surprised to be greeted by Grasshop once they got inside.

“Hey, Grasshop,” Hunter said. “Umm… we need to see Aqune.”

“You’re so cold,” Grasshop replied. “You’re not at all excited to see your old pal? What can Aqune do for you that the great Grasshop can’t?”

“Uhh… it’s not that,” Hunter said. “But, as you probably know, the situation is pretty urgent.”

“Right! Urgent!” replied Grasshop, attempting to look more serious. “Well, in that case, I haven’t seen Aqune or Buguese today. They’re probably busy searching for the evil Spider Rider.”

“I’m concerned that they haven’t come back at all,” Beerain said, as she entered the room. “Buguese may want to search day and night, but he is with Aqune. At the very least, that girl is more practical than him, and would want him to rest.” Regardless, she was worried about him.

“Yes, I suppose,” Grasshop said. “Wait! You don’t think they’re in any kind of trouble, do you?”

“I don’t know,” Beerain replied. “All I can say is that I’m uneasy about all of this.”

“We’ll find them!” Hunter said. “We’re looking for Richter anyway, so it won’t be too much trouble to keep our eyes out for Aqune and Buguese too.”

“Yeah,” said Magma. “And if Aqune is in some kind of trouble, that would mean Portia is too. Brutus, you would do anything for your sister, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Thanks,” Grasshop said. “We’re counting on you to find our great leader, and his wife, and her pet.”

“They’re not married yet,” Beerain commented.

“Oh, touchy,” Grasshop said.

“And Portia isn’t a pet either!” Magma exclaimed.

“I get it,” Grasshop said, concerned with the death glares he was getting from both sides. “Please be on your way!”

* * *

Buguese found himself in a small and unfamiliar room.

‘Where is this?’ he thought to himself. But he quickly remembered exactly what had happened earlier. And he noticed that Aqune was nowhere to be seen.

“Aqune!” he called, though he didn’t honestly expect to get an answer. “Where are you?!”

Then suddenly, the door to the room he was in was opened, by none-other than Siegfried.

“You!” Buguese declared, immediately lunging at him. He reached for his sword, only to find it was no longer on him.

Despite the fact that Buguese had a tight grasp on his shoulders, Siegfried seemed unconcerned.

“Maybe I’ll give your weapon back to you later,” Siegfried said. “But not if you cause trouble and get my nice suit dirty.”

“Where is Aqune?!” Buguese demanded.

“That, I definitely won’t tell you,” Siegfried answered.

“Then I will force the answer out of you!” Buguese declared, grabbing the man’s neck with one of his hands.

“Even if you find Aqune…” Siegfried continued, “Which you won’t, it’s not as if you can go anywhere. Let’s just say, you’re a very long way away from home.”

“What do you mean?!” Buguese demanded, not loosening his grip whatsoever.

“This is my home land,” said Siegfried. “The Outer World.”

The shock of hearing this was enough to make Buguese let go.

“Hunter Steele’s world?” he thought out loud. “How?!”

“I transported you here,” Siegfried answered. “And I thought you should know that in this world, bugs are tiny little creatures who can easily be smashed to death. Yet, humans fear them anyway. So if anybody sees you, I can guess within seconds you’ll be shot dead, then stuffed up and shipped to the Smithsonian. Just a little warning.”

“How dare you?!” Buguese yelled, even though he didn’t quite comprehend what Siegfried was talking about. But he couldn’t make a move, as the grey spider appeared, forcibly ramming Buguese back into the room. Siegfried quickly shut the door, before he could recover.

“Don’t worry,” Siegfried said. “I will let you out soon. Actually, I require your cooperation with something, and I always get what I want.”

* * *

“Aqune!” Hunter called. “Buguese!”

“Portia!” yelled Magma.

“I don’t sense Aqune at all,” Corona said. “Or Richter, for that matter.”

“Could they both have left this country already?” Hunter wondered. It would be annoying if they came all the way to the Insector lands for nothing, but even worse if Richter had gone to Arachna, and made another attack there.

“I guess so,” said Corona, though doubt showed in her voice. The girl took a deep breath, concentrating on the Oracle’s presence as best as she could.

“Umm… Corona…” Hunter knew something was wrong, seeing a frightened look on his companion’s face.

“This is really weird, Hunter,” said Corona. “I only feel a very faint presence from you and Magma.”

“But we’re standing right here,” Magma commented.

“I know,” replied Corona. “Maybe… this was the bad feeling I got before. It’s as if the Oracle’s presence is fading.”

“Then this is really bad,” said Hunter.

* * *

Siegfried looked down at the figure of Aqune, who was lying on a bed.

“Very soon,” he said. “Spirit Oracle will awaken once more. As soon as I get rid of your human consciousness forever. And then, I’ll have that great power for myself. I can do whatever I want with my Inner World.”


	14. Buguese Strikes

**14- Buguese Strikes**

When Hunter and his group returned to Arachna castle, it was late. They were surprised to see Igneous and Glint waiting up for them.

“Did you find him?” Igneous asked, though he felt stupid for bothering, because they clearly came back alone.

“No,” Hunter replied. “But, it might be more serious than we thought.”

“How so?” Glint asked.

“Currently, Aqune and Buguese’s whereabouts are unknown,” Corona answered. “And also, I feel that Spirit Oracle’s power may be weakening.”

“We have to do something, and fast!” Hunter shouted.

“Right, right,” came Lumen’s voice, as he walked into the room. “But honestly, could you guys make less noise the next time you come in at night? You woke me up.”

“Prince!” Igneous exclaimed in surprise.

“Hehe, sorry about that,” said Hunter.

“Before you do any more hunting, all of you need to get some sleep,” Lumen said. “I know you may not take that advice seriously coming from me, but I have to warn you anyway.”

“I guess so,” Hunter replied, though he was very apprehensive.

“The prince is right,” said Magma. “As much as I want to make sure Portia is safe, we have to be ready to fight if there is a problem. And it’s pretty clear that Richter and that man don’t want to be found.”

* * *

The next morning, Siegfried went over to Buguese’s door, the grey spider by his side, and gently knocked.

“What do you want?!” Buguese asked angrily. Though Siegfried couldn’t see, he was glaring hatefully.

“How would you like to know where Aqune is?” Siegfried asked.

Buguese growled. “You wouldn’t simply tell me, unless there is some sort of catch.”

“Ah, you’re right,” he replied. “There is a catch. You have to help me out with an experiment.”

“I will not help you with anything!” Buguese argued.

“Then, do you not want to know where Aqune is?” Siegfried asked.

"I will find her by myself, or force the answer out of you," Buguese answered. Well, that's what he intended once he could figure out how to escape himself. "But why would anyone want to be a part of your twisted experiments, human?"

“You really don’t appreciate the joys of science, do you?” Siegfried asked. “However, I’ve been very anxious to see what an enhanced Insector would be like. Probably, you’d be even stronger than my spider. So in the end, I never intended to give you a choice.”

* * *

“Shadow!” Hunter called. “Today for sure, we’ll find Richter. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” the spider replied. “If we don’t get to the bottom of this soon, we might have a real crisis. We’ll have to push ourselves even harder.”

“I can handle it!” declared Hunter.

“Ah! So cool!” Glint exclaimed. “Just like always.” Excitedly, she followed Hunter and Shadow, as they headed down to the meeting room.

“Somebody please teach this girl about privacy,” Shadow whispered.

Before long, the whole team was gathered, filled up on breakfast, and ready to begin.

“Alright,” Igneous announced. “Which of us should go to the Insector lands?”

“I will!” Magma said. “That’s probably the quickest way to find Portia.”

“I want to go too,” Sparkle said. “Maybe Uncle Hop needs my help.”

“No,” Lumen flatly replied.

“But how come?” Sparkle asked. “It won’t be dangerous if I have Uncle Hop with me. And I’ll also have Hotarla.”

“Kyu! Kyu!”

“Sparkle, I said-”

But Lumen was interrupted when a violent crash was heard. Then, in an instant, a section of the meeting room’s wall started to fall.

“Look out!” Magma yelled, as he and the others tried their best to move to safety.

Then, when the dust cleared, Buguese appeared, holding his sword in front of him.

“Buguese?! What are you doing?!” Hunter exclaimed. “Are you trying to break the castle?”

“The castle was just in my way,” he replied. “I came here to annihilate all of you!” At that, he made no delay to swing his sword again, the shockwaves sending everyone in the room flying back.

Hunter was the first to stand. But that was one seriously strong attack he'd definitely be feeling.

“Annihilate us? What are you talking about? I thought you were our ally now?”

“Is that so?” Buguese replied. “Well no longer! Now I will crush you, as long as you stand in my way!”

He moved closer to Hunter, threateningly.

“I won’t let you hurt him!” Corona declared, now fully transformed. She stood in front of him, protectively.

“Then you’ll die first!” Buguese answered, blasting her with his sword.

“Corona!” Hunter shouted. Though Corona seemed alright, that was still enough to anger him. Quickly, he transformed as well.

“I don’t understand what you want, Buguese,” Hunter said. “But where is Aqune?” He somehow felt Aqune not being there had something to do with Buguese attacking them. No, it definitely had to be connected.

I don’t know or care where she is,” answered Buguese. “I care about one thing, and that is killing every one of you!” He fired a shot of energy through the ceiling, causing a piece of it to collapse. Having nowhere to run, the Riders other than Hunter and Corona appeared to be crushed.

“No!” Corona shouted, horrified.

“Guys!” Hunter called. “Are you alright?!” But he received no reply.

“Don’t worry! You’ll join them in death!” announced Buguese, who raised his sword in the air.

Hunter stared at him angrily, not sure what to say anymore.

“Wait! Hunter!” Corona yelled. “What if Buguese is being controlled somehow?”

“Huh?” Hunter replied. Not that he had time to dwell on the oddity of that, for Buguese’s sword came crashing down at him. He was barely able to block it with his pike.

“When he raised his sword to attack you,” Corona said. “On his wrist was this metal band. I’ve never seen it before.”

“Maybe,” Hunter said, trying to stay composed, as he was being pushed by the intense force of Buguese’s attack. Somehow, the Insector had gotten substantially stronger than he used to be, too. “I’ll keep him distracted,” Hunter decided, who pushed harder, and was now at least keeping Buguese still.

Alright!” Corona declared. Carefully, she aimed her arrow. If she missed, Hunter was in range, and could possibly be hurt. Shutting her eyes, concentrating mentally, she fired. And the arrow made contact with its target, breaking it.

In shock, Buguese reeled back.

“What?!” he exclaimed. “Spider Riders?” He was seriously confused, and also annoyed.

“Good, I think it worked,” Hunter said, relieved. “But, Buguese, please tell us. What is going on?”

Though Buguese’s head was pretty much a blur, he was starting to mentally put the pieces together.

“Hunter Steele, Corona…” he started. “I suppose I must thank you this time. Aqune is being held prisoner by a madman named Siegfried.” He paused, panting. He could barely focus. “Right now, she is in the Outer World!”

Then, suddenly, light came around Buguese, and he disappeared from that spot.

“Where did he go?” Hunter wondered, as he attempted to process this. But it was far from the most important thing on his mind. He turned to where he last saw the others.

“They… they can’t be-”

“Wait, Hunter,” Shadow interrupted. Then a blast erupted, and the other Spider Riders and Glint rose from the rubble.

“You’re alright!” Hunter exclaimed. “But… how?”

“Thanks to Hotarla,” Lumen said.

“Kyu! Kyu! Kyu!”

“Hotarla fired web to protect us, as the ceiling was falling,” Lumen continued. “I guess, maybe we should take Sparkle along after all.”

"Alright!” Sparkle exclaimed.

“Sure,” Hunter said, not that he objected to begin with. “But we’re not going to the Insector world.”

“Really?” Igneous asked. “Then where?”

“The Outer World,” Hunter said. “Because that’s where Aqune is, and probably Buguese too. Because of someone named Siegfried.”

The others looked at him, stunned.

“That’s it!” Corona shouted. “I know why the Oracle’s power felt weak. Because now, Spirit Oracle herself isn’t even in this world.”

“Then, what’s going to happen to the Inner World?” Sparkle wondered.

“I don’t know,” replied Hunter. “But I will not wait around to find out.”


	15. Alliance

**15- Alliance**

_“That manacle is proof that you were chosen as a Spider Rider.”_

_Richter looked up, at the sound of Siegfried’s voice._

“Boy, it’s only natural that you should have a spider partner. Take this one.” Wave was standing by the man’s side.

_“Yes,” Richter replied._

* * *

“Without a second thought, I took you, Wave,” Richter thought out loud. “Because even though you may have just been a tool, that was the first time he ever gave me a gift.”

* * *

“How do we get to the Outer World, Hunter?” Magma asked. The team of six Spider Riders, and their official tag-along Glint, were all on the road to a possibly unreachable destination.

“Actually, I have no idea,” Hunter admitted. “But we have to get there, and we have to rescue Aqune. Spider Riders never give up!”

“I love how heroic you sound,” Glint commented. “But I wish I was the girl you wanted to rescue.”

“I’ve never heard of someone who wished to be in danger,” said Shadow.

“Glint, it’s not like Hunter is in love with Aqune,” Lumen mentioned. “Hunter is just very passionate about saving people, the way I’m passionate about napping, and cute girls. It really is a shame the eighth Spider Rider turned out to be that Richter guy instead of a girl. I thought it would be a girl for sure.”

“Well there’s me! Don’t forget!” Glint shouted. “Aren’t I close enough, since Richter betrayed us anyway?! I'll be the eighth Rider.”

“Guys, let’s please focus on the actual problem,” Corona suggested. “Hey, Hunter. You said you came into the Inner World through a pyramid, right?”

“Yeah,” replied Hunter.

“After that, then what happened, exactly?” She had heard the story before, but maybe being refreshed on the details would suddenly give them an idea.

“Well,” he began. “The manacle latched itself onto my arm. Then, I saw this beautiful woman, who turned out to be Spirit Oracle. And the next thing I knew, I was in a forest here.”

“Shouldn’t we go to that forest, then?” Sparkle asked. “Maybe, there’s a portal of some kind there, and we can use it to go back.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Shadow replied. “I know that forest well, and I’ve never seen anything of the sort.”

“But you never saw an Earthen either until I showed up,” stated Hunter. “Therefore, anything’s possible, so we have to at least look.”

“Very well,” replied Shadow.

As planned, the Spider Riders started a thorough search of the forest area. They looked in the treetops, through every patch of grass, and even dug holes in the ground. But in the end, there were no portals to be found.

“Aww...” Hunter sighed. “It seemed like a good idea.”

“I told you so,” Shadow replied, to which Hunter just glared.

“Now what?” Igneous wondered.

“Hunting for invisible portals? You guys are a riot.”

“That voice…” Hunter looked around, and up in a tree stood Richter. The boy then leapt down in front of them.

“You!” Igneous shouted. “How could you show yourself in front of us now?!”

“Oh, so sorry,” Richter said. “I thought you wanted to learn how to get to the Outer World. Because as it turns out, I have a way.”

“You expect us to believe that?” Igneous questioned, unsheathing his sword. He clutched the hilt tightly, anger building.

“Hmm… maybe you’ve got me there,” Richter said, smirking. “After all, I did betray you.”

“And for what? What do you want?!” Igneous charged at him, forcing Richter to back up towards the tree. Then the knight pushed his sword to Richter’s neck, drawing a small amount of blood.

“Igneous, wait!” Glint shouted.

“What?” He didn’t move his sword away, but he turned his head.

“You’re going way too far,” she said. “It’s not like we have to kill him. I mean, I don't care personally, but…”

“She’s right,” Hunter said.

In response, Glint winked.

“Despite who he is, if Richter has a way to get to the Outer World, we have to find out what,” Hunter continued. “It could be a trap, but right now, we have no other options.”

“Alright,” Igneous said, putting his sword away.

“A wise choice,” replied Richter.

“Either way, you’re not off the hook yet,” Magma declared. “Why don’t you tell us what it is you’ve been up to? And if you try to run, we’ll go after you. Right, Brutus?”

“Right.”

“Hold it! I will,” Richter said. “This time it’s only fair, because I want to make an alliance with you. I need more power than just mine and Wave’s alone.”

“An alliance?” Corona questioned.

“Mhm. You probably know this by now if you’re looking for a portal, but your friends were kidnapped by the man known as Siegfried. He is the monster I’ve been hoping to defeat. That man is my father.”

“Your father?!” Hunter exclaimed. Though, it did make sense. They were both Earthens, and with a physical resemblance to each other.

“That is correct,” Richter said. “Siegfried spent his whole life researching the Inner World. He hoped to one day find it, and have it for himself. Though he was my only living family, I was nothing to him. I grew to hate the Inner World, and hoped to destroy it. Would that give me my father back? I somehow doubt it. But at the very least, I could ruin his plans. I could spite him. And that would be good enough for me.”

“That… it’s sad, but… to destroy the Inner World?” Corona replied, attempting to process the story.

“That’s absurd!” Hunter shouted. “That might be more crazy than Mantid’s reasons! Don’t you know what the role of a Spider Rider is?”

“Yes, I’m well aware,” answered Richter. “I’ve heard the stories many times from my father. They are great heroes, who save the world from evil. At least, that may have described the Spider Riders of the past. I, however, follow my own path. A path that now crosses with yours, doesn’t it?”

“You’re right,” Hunter said. “I can tell you really do want to defeat him. And as for us, we really have to make it to the Outer World. So I accept your offer. Let’s form an alliance.”

“Hunter…” Corona said, unsure. But no one did object to him.

“Take us there,” Hunter continued, reaching out his hand. Richter shook it.

“I appreciate your kindness,” Richter answered. Then, he pulled out a black box just like his father’s, which surrounded the whole group in light.

* * *

Buguese had been sent back to the room he was in earlier, after his defeat. He hadn’t heard from Siegfried since, and still knew nothing about Aqune’s location. However, one factor was different this time. That is, he still had his sword on him.

The Insector listened around, to see if Siegfried or his spider was nearby. Either they were moving very quietly, or they weren’t, he decided.

‘Very well,’ he thought. ‘Now is my chance.’

Firing energy from his sword, the Insector easily blasted a large hole through the door. He climbed out of it, and glanced at the area. Obviously, the act of destroying the door would have made some noise.

Swiftly as he could, he started to run. But of course, Siegfried inevitably appeared.

Buguese held up his weapon, keeping a composure. The grey spider wasn’t there, at least, so that was a point in his favor.

“You miscalculated,” he said. “Your experiment failed, Siegfried, and now the Spider Riders know what you’ve done.”

“Yes,” Seigfried replied. “Now they know. But how do you expect they can make it to this world?”

“They’ll find a way,” Buguese replied. “Hunter Steele is annoyingly persistent. And whether or not they do, I will still find Aqune.” He fired a shot from his sword at Siegfried, which connected with his chest. It wouldn't really do damage, but would at least distract him. Then, using that chance, Buguese started to run.

Siegfried simply brushed at his charred suit in annoyance.

“Go right ahead,” he said. “I knew you would anyway. Of course, by the time you find her, there may not be any of her left.”

The man started to laugh.


	16. The Outer World

**16- The Outer World**

Just as quickly as they’d disappeared, the Spider Riders reappeared in an alleyway between two tall buildings. With Hunter and Richter as the exception, everyone was already in awe.

“The sky is blue!” Lumen said in shock. “What a weird color.”

“Actually, that’s the normal color,” Richter replied.

“I don’t see a sun here,” Corona added. “Where is it?”

“Oh, it’s here,” Hunter said, as he squinted up at the sky. “Just, you can’t see much of it, because it’s behind those clouds.” A sliver could be seen peeking out, which he pointed to.

“W-wait… the sun is that small?” she asked.

“My world is pretty different than the Inner World,” Hunter commented. “But this is definitely it. We’re really back!”

“Everyone!” Richter called, sternly. “Before we step out to where people can see us, I have one important rule.”

“Which is?” Igneous asked, somewhat concerned.

“Everyone must keep their spiders in the manacle,” he said. “That goes for this one too.” He pointed to Hotarla, the only one which was currently out.

“Huh?” Sparkle said. “But, Hotarla always stays out of the manacle.”

“Kyu…” whimpered Hotarla.

“Actually, I have to agree with Richter,” Hunter said, looking at her sadly. “Sorry Sparkle. But in this world, spiders are tiny. We don’t really want to scare anyone.”

“Oh, alright,” Sparkle said. “I’m really sorry, Hotarla. I’ll make sure to play with you a lot when we get back.” She lifted her manacle. “Spider in.”

“Spiders are tiny?” Shadow wondered. “What a twisted world.”

Once that was dealt with, Hunter was the first of the group to step into the streets. They were actually rather bustling with people.

“Why are the buildings here so giant?” Magma asked.

“This is a city,” Hunter replied. “It’s full of tall buildings. But, not all of them are so big. Skyscrapers might not be as impressive as the castles in the Inner World, but I guess they are pretty neat.”

‘Hunter seems really happy to be here,’ Corona thought to herself. She recalled when she first returned to her home of Nuuma, and how uneasy she felt back then. But for Hunter, if he was troubled by anything, he didn’t show it.

“It’s really crowded too,” Igneous spoke, as he was trying to get his bearings straight, and not having much luck.

“I agree,” replied Lumen. “But, at least the ladies here are just as lovely.” Spotting a girl who was walking alone, he walked up to her.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said. “What are you doing, on this fine day in the Outer World?”

Igneous immediately put his hand to his forehead in exasperation.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” said the girl. “And, what are you wearing?”

“Hm? These clothes are fitting for a prince,” Lumen replied. “I am a prince, you know? Would you like to be my princess?”

“What kind of geek are you?” asked the girl, disgusted. “There’s no Comic Con this week, so get away!” She ran off.

“A geek?” Lumen wondered. “What’s that?”

Hunter sighed. He was glad they were enjoying themselves, but hopefully they wouldn’t do anything too stupid.

“Hey, Hunter!” Glint shouted, grabbing onto his arm. “In this strange world, what kind of things do people do when they date?”

“Well, actually I’ve never been on a date in this world,” Hunter replied.

“I’m surprised! Still, you must have heard stories,” Glint continued, and finally let go, to Corona’s relief.

“Let’s see…” began Hunter. “I guess you can do things like go out to dinner, or go to a park. One thing that’s pretty popular is going to the movies.”

“What’s a movie?” Sparkle asked.

“Uh…” Hunter paused. How exactly was he going to explain that one? “Basically, it’s kind of like a play. But, it isn’t live. It was filmed in advance. And usually the effects are much better.”

“A play that isn’t live?” Shadow wondered.

“Eh, I can’t really explain it better than that,” Hunter said. “How about this? One day, when all of this is settled, I’ll take you all back here and show you around. But now isn’t a time for play.”

“Exactly,” said Richter, looking irritated. “We need to hurry and find my father!”

“Wow, the clothes here are strange,” Igneous and Magma were looking into the windows of a department store.

“What is that?!” Sparkle had taken notice of a lady walking a big fluffy dog, and was pointing it out to Lumen.

“I’ll round them up,” Richter declared, charging off. “Even if it kills me!”

* * *

“Hey, Hunter,” Corona said. Somehow, just the two of them were left waiting.

“Yeah,” said Hunter.

“I can’t help but notice how happy you seem. You must really like your home.”

“Well, yeah, I am happy,” replied Hunter. He looked to the girl, curiously. She seemed to be troubled by something.

“If you like it here, why did you leave?”

“Oh, because I always wanted to find the Inner World,” Hunter said. “More than anything, I wanted to prove that my grandfather was right. And I did!” He grinned.

“And once you proved it, you still didn’t want to go back?” Corona asked. Even when Spirit Oracle gave Hunter the chance to return once before, he had chosen to stay in the Inner World.

“No, not really,” Hunter answered. There was an unusual sadness in his voice, Corona noticed. But she wasn’t sure if it was her place to question him about it. She merely watched him.

“Gramps was actually the closest family I ever had,” Hunter continued, to Corona’s surprise. “You see, my dad was pretty sick, and always in the hospital. My mom had to work all the time. So, I spent a lot of time with Gramps, while he was still alive.”

“Oh…” Corona said, still unsure if she should say much more.

“Of course, I heard all sorts of cool stories about the Inner World. I knew it was real, and that I had to go there one day. My mom, well… she didn’t believe. Or, if she did, she was dead set against me going. She would always talk about how Gramps was a bad influence on me, that I should just give up on going, and live like a real person.” He paused. “Now, I wonder. Do she and Dad even know if I’m alive? Did they realize that I made it to the Inner World?”

“Hunter…” said Corona.

“It’s nothing to worry about now,” replied Hunter, now smiling.

* * *

“Aqune!” Buguese had been searching the building, but had yet to locate the girl. Realizing she wasn’t on the top floor, he headed down the only stairway, which led to the basement. “Aqune, where are you?!” Nonetheless, she wasn’t answering, which only served to worry the Insector further. Was she even in the building at all? Was she alive?

Downstairs, he discovered a locked door. Getting past the problem of the lock was simple, as he could blast his way through.

It was the room he was seeking after all.

“Aqune!” he yelled, running up to her. He took her into his arms, gently shaking her, in hopes that she would wake up. “Can you hear me?” It was all in vain.

“You’re… Buguese,” The Insector was surprised to hear a feminine voice. But it wasn’t Aqune’s.

“Portia?” Indeed, it was Aqune’s spider, who was still in the manacle. “What happened?!” the Insector demanded.

“That man said he wanted to awaken Spirit Oracle,” Portia answered. “I can’t reach Aqune. Please… save her.”

“I will,” Buguese replied. “I swear I will, somehow! And Siegfried will pay!”

* * *

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long,” Richter said. It was hard to tell how sincere his apology was though, when his voice sounded so irritated.

“Hunter, we should be apologizing,” said Igneous. “We got caught up in looking around at everything.”

“Yeah, I should have been supporting you,” Glint added.

“Really, it’s fine,” Hunter answered. “As long as we’re all together now. We can’t keep Aqune waiting any longer.”

By chance, a certain woman was on a walk in the same part of the city as the Spider Riders had landed. And when she caught a glimpse of the group of Spider Riders, she stopped.

“That boy is…” she stared at Hunter, wondering.

“Mom?!” Hunter exclaimed, as he also noticed the woman’s presence.

“What?!” Corona yelled.


	17. Mending

**17- Mending**

Hunter cautiously stepped closer to the woman, who was doing the same.

“Are you Hunter Steele?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Hunter replied. “It’s me, mom. Hunter.” As they looked to each other, both wore serious faces.

“You’re alive, after all this time?” Her expression didn’t falter at all.

“I am,” he answered.

“Hey, Brother, what’s going on?” Sparkle tugged lightly at Lumen’s sleeve.

“It looks like Hunter just met his mother. But I think this is a sort of awkward reunion.”

“Mom, I’m sorry. All this time, I was in the Inner World. How’s Dad? What are you doing in this city, Mom?”

“Your dad is doing much better,” she answered, ignoring Hunter’s first point. But now, her voice seemed calmer. “He’s out of the hospital now. And not too long ago, we moved to this city. It’s really wonderful here. The atmosphere, the people. It’s done a lot of good for the both of us.”

“I’m glad, about Dad,” Hunter replied, smiling.

“Would you like to see him?” asked his mom.

“I…” Hunter paused. Of course he did. But, on the other hand, he didn’t really feel they had the time to stall anymore. Still, it was his father. After leaving without a word to go to the Inner World, he owed it to his family to see them again when they had the chance. “Okay, for a little while,” Hunter said. “But, if you don’t mind, I have to take my friends with me.”

“Friends?” asked his mother. But she noticed the group of oddly-dressed people who were watching Hunter from behind.

“I met them all in the Inner World,” replied Hunter, proudly. “They’re Spider Riders, most of them anyway.”

“I see,” his mother replied. “Come now, let’s go home.”

‘A home…’ Richter thought to himself.

* * *

“My Aqune…” Buguese said. “Somehow, I will save you.” He held her body closer to her, tightly. He could feel Aqune’s breathing, her heartbeat. Indeed, her body was very much alive. She was just sleeping? But in that case, why wouldn’t she awaken?

Leaning down, Buguese softly kissed her on the lips.

“We may not have had the best of pasts, Aqune. But I will not lose the chance to have a future with you. You want that too, don’t you? So please, hang on.” If there ever was to be a future, he knew he had to think of something, and fast.

* * *

Hunter and the others were taken to a small, yet cozy-looking apartment a few blocks away. Most of the Spider Riders were pretty fascinated to ride in an elevator, though it was a bit cramped. Hunter and Richter didn’t really trust anyone to take it alone, so they all went in a group.

“Nice place, Mom,” Hunter said.

“Hmm… earth furniture isn’t too different from the kind in the Inner World,” Glint commented. “By the way, I’m Hunter’s girl-” she was interrupted when Magma put his hand over her mouth.

“Hey!” she shouted.

“Read the atmosphere,” Magma replied. “Besides, Hunter’s girlfriend is still Corona.”

Glint was sulking fiercely.

“Dad!” Hunter exclaimed, as he saw his father sitting on a red couch.

“You’re… Hunter?” he asked. Though before the boy could answer, the man stood, and wrapped him in his arms. He was a skinny man, and his grip was not very tight.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Hunter said, although he was a bit embarrassed to be hugged all of a sudden. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t around, but I was in the Inner World all this time. Gramps was right after all!”

“I’m happy to know you’re doing well,” said his father, who let him go, and took a seat once more. “I thought for sure I would never see you again. But you look very healthy, and you’ve made so many friends.”

Hunter looked back at them, sincerely hoping they didn’t break anything in their curiosity. Lumen and Igneous seemed to be dangerously close to a laptop that was placed on the counter.

“I do,” Hunter said. “However, these aren’t all of my friends. There’s another, and she’s in trouble. Actually, if we don’t find her soon, a lot of people might be in trouble. So, I’m really sorry Mom, Dad. But we can’t stay around much longer.”

“I see,” Hunter’s mom spoke up. “It seems you did find quite a life for yourself, Hunter. Your grandfather would be proud indeed. The best thing I can do is wish you luck. And, you are always welcome to return here, if you so choose to.”

“Really?” he said, his face brightening. “Thanks so much.”

“Of course,” replied Hunter’s dad. “Fight, Hunter!”

“I will,” he replied, grinning.

‘That must be what it’s like to have a real family,’ thought Richter. ‘But to reconcile with my father would be truly impossible. The best thing I can do for the both of us is kill him.’

“Hey…” Lumen called. “Hunter, is this some kind of fancy light?” It appeared he’d turned the computer on.

“It seems more dangerous than that,” Igneous argued.

“It’s…” Hunter sighed, noting Richter’s irritated expression. “I’ll tell you about it later, but no, it’s nothing dangerous.”

* * *

Buguese could remember the moment when he was forced into Siegfried’s experiment. He was dragged into a room just like this one, and a metal device of some sort was forced onto his arm. There was pain rushing through him, and then he couldn’t remember a thing.

‘There’s no such device on Aqune,’ he thought. Not on her arm, or on any other part of her body that he could see…. That he could see!

“Aqune’s manacle.” The idea suddenly struck Buguese. One of her wrists was covered already. Buguese hurriedly unlatched the manacle, and placed it aside on a tabletop. And beneath it, indeed, was a silver band.

“I must destroy it,” he declared, grabbing his sword from beneath his cape. He made a swift but careful cut, and the damaged metal bracelet fell. “Please work.”

Then, Aqune’s eyes began to open, and she could see the Insector watching her.

“Buguese…”

“Aqune, are you alright?!” Buguese asked, still not allowing himself to be fully relieved. “You are Aqune, right?”

“Yes…” she answered, confused. “Umm… where is this place?”

“We’re in the Outer World,” Buguese answered. “Because we were captured by Siegfried. That man already used me in his sick experiments, and now he was attempting to awaken Spirit Oracle in you again. However, now he will not succeed!”

“Thank you, Buguese,” Aqune said. “I could feel you here, and Portia too. I tried to fight it, but it was like… I was slipping further into darkness. I couldn't reach you."

“I see,” replied Buguese. “By the way, here.” He picked up her manacle, and put it back on the girl’s arm. “We must escape, but we may have to fight to do so. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” she said. She held out her arm. “Oracle’s kindness!”

Finally, she was transformed.

“But, Buguese. If we’re in the Outer World, how can we escape?”

“I haven’t figured out how we’ll return to the Inner World, exactly. But at the very least, I must get you away from Siegfried, before he tries anything else.”

“Right,” she answered, apprehensively.

Aqune followed Buguese out of the room. They cautiously headed up the stairs. However, Buguese was rather anticipating finding Siegfried again later. He wanted revenge, for both Aqune and himself.

“That’s…” Aqune spoke. Just as they had made it, the grey spider charged at them.

“You are in my way!” Buguese shouted, aiming his weapon.

* * *

“Hunter, I’m really glad,” Corona said, as the group began walking. Corona was by Hunter’s side, near the head of the group.

“Corona?” he replied. “What do you mean?”

“You got to make up with your parents,” she answered. “You know, when you told me about them, I was worried about you. I always thought of you as someone who got along great with everyone.”

“Oh, that,” he said. “I wasn’t worried, and you didn’t have to be either. I love Mom and Dad, and I know they love me too. We just didn’t always see eye-to-eye. But, thank you, Corona.”

“No problem,” she said. She reached her hand out to the boy, who took it in his.

“Everyone, no more detours, no matter what, even if you meet more long lost family members!” Richter ordered. “Just follow after me and be silent. We’re heading for a serious battle, and nothing about it will be fun!”

“Yeah, I understand,” replied Hunter.

Corona nodded. “I’m ready for anything.”

All of them wore determined faces.


	18. The Battle With Siegfried

**18- The Battle with Siegfried**

Buguese fired at the grey spider, having little other options. However, it seemed the spider wasn’t even singed.

“Annoying creature!” he yelled, grasping his sword tighter in irritation.

“We should try and lure it away,” Aqune whispered. “Fighting by the stairs is dangerous.” She jumped over the spider, to the other side.

The grey spider, taking notice of this, slashed at Aqune with one it its front legs. Aqune blocked the attack with her sword, attempting to push it away.

Seeing that it was distracted, Buguese fired a couple shots, then moved out of the way as well. Naturally, the shots did nothing against it, and it continued trying to crush Aqune’s sword.

“Shockwave!” Aqune yelled, her sword picking up a strong charge. The creature wasn’t expecting this, and stumbled backwards. Buguese took the opportunity to lunge at it, trying to impale it with his sword. Flesh was cut, but it seemed to do nothing but get the spider more annoyed. With the sword still stuck in its body, the grey spider jumped at Aqune, pushing her into a wall.

Buguese leapt on top of it, successfully pulling out his blade. However, the spider quickly knocked him off. At least it wasn’t very far to fall.

Aqune rose, only to realize she was cornered by the spider now. She swung her charged sword at it once more, but this time, it was prepared, and jumped to avoid the blast.

Buguese ran to Aqune’s side. This was going quite badly, but at the very least, he wanted to ensure her safety.

“Nothing is working…” Aqune said.

“We need more power,” Buguese replied. “Perhaps, if we try attacking it at once…” he wasn’t really sure if that would work, though.

“You’re not going to try anything,” Siegfried said, looking furious. He was able to approach them unnoticed, with the distraction of the battle. “How dare you?! How dare you ruin my plan?!”

“I am the one with a right to be angry,” Buguese replied, readying his sword for an attack. However, the grey spider then struck both Aqune and Buguese with a single blow from its leg. They were pushed backward, crashing into the wall. 

Both realized they were in a very tough position, as it instantly moved in for another attack. But the attack stopped, and the spider fell, amidst a cloud of smoke.

“Hunter!” Aqune exclaimed, seeing the other Spider Riders there. It seemed, they had attacked it. And not only that, but fragments of a metal band were left on the ground near the defeated spider.

“Looks like we made it just in time,” Hunter said.

“The Spider Riders?!” Siegfried yelled, enraged. “They made it here?” He of course noticed Richter in the crowds. “And even you came, boy? You’ve truly disgraced yourself, allying with the likes of them.”

“They are not my allies!” Richter yelled, running towards Siegfried and throwing down his sword. Siegfried caught the sword in his hands, which now dripped with blood as he refused to let go. “I’m only cooperating with them to ensure your inevitable defeat!” He tried to pull the sword back, but his father had a tight grip.

Corona approached Aqune and Buguese.

“Listen, Aqune,” she said. “You have to return to the Inner World as soon as possible. Because, without your light, it could be destroyed.”

Worriedly, the purple-haired girl put a hand over her mouth. She hadn’t considered that yet.

“But how can I?”

“We can use Richter’s transporter,” replied Corona. Though, she noticed Richter looked pretty occupied.

Hunter ran up to the red-head.

“Richter, I’ll help,” he said. “Give us the transporter.”

He scowled. “I’m busy!”

“We need to send Aqune back!” Hunter shouted. Using his pike, he pushed Siegfried away, who released his grip on the sword as a result.

“Fine!” Richter yelled, throwing the black box hard onto the ground. Magma picked it up, bringing it over to where the others were gathered.

As for Richter, he was running towards Siegfried to make another attack.

“Alright!” Siegfried growled, as he barely evaded the strike. “I’ve enhanced spiders, Insectors, but never a human. Now is the time!” He snapped a silver bracelet onto his own wrist. Light came around him. Siegfried moaned, as pain pulsated through him. But then, it all came to a calm. He took a breath.

Hunter and Richter watched him in shock. But then Siegfried threw his fist out, knocking Richter into Hunter. Both fell to the ground.

“Hunter!” Corona shouted. Hunter got up first, swinging his weapon. But Siegfried caught it in his un-injured hand, and threw Hunter!

“I… I have to help him,” Corona said. “Someone, use that switch. Hurry and go back.”

“Yeah, I understand,” said Magma, who was still holding it. Seeing a red button, he pushed it. Then all but Hunter, Corona and Richter were surrounded by light. They vanished from the scene.

“Good,” Corona sighed, seeing they were gone. She looked to Hunter, who was getting up from the ground, groaning. Needing to concentrate, Corona aimed her arrow at Siegfried. He didn’t seem to notice her, being busy stomping on Richter’s body.

“You should never have betrayed me, boy!” Siegfried shouted. “You’ll pay with your life, I promise you that!” But then, Corona’s arrow hit him in the head. Cringing, Siegfried stepped backward, giving Richter the chance to stand.

Richter was panting, a vicious anger in his eyes.

“How did he become so strong?! Is there nothing I can do?!”

* * *

Magma and the others re-emerged in the forest area where they had first transported. The skies above the Inner World were turning dark, like they had once before.

“No…” Aqune said. “I caused this?”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Sparkle said.

"Kyu..." The girl had already released Hotarla back out from the manacle.

Aqune clasped her hands together. Soon, a golden aura grew around her. Almost immediately, the light in the sky began to grow stronger. "That should work." Despite this, she didn't seem fully calm. "Now… I hope Hunter and Corona will be alright." 

“Of course they will be,” replied Buguese. “Hunter Steele did defeat Mantid somehow, who had the power of all four Oracle Keys.”

“And now, Hunter has the Oracle Keys!” said Magma, excited.

* * *

“Don’t give up yet!” Hunter called to Richter. He moved in for another attack, which was regretfully blocked easily.

Corona was the next to try, but Siegfried rammed her to the wall.

“He might even be stronger than Buguese was…” Corona said. “These enhancements are insane.”

"We could try and destroy the bracelet," Hunter said, though he was immediately kicked aside. “You’re foolish to think you can destroy anything!” Siegfried said. “Richter, you were very right. There’s absolutely nothing any of you can do but die a bloody death! No matter what, the Inner World will be mine. Even if I have to kill every Spider Rider to have it!”

Richter clenched his fists.

“I don’t think so! Wave, Spider Out!”

Hunter and Corona ran in, each attempting to make another attack. Watching their movements carefully, Richter pointed to Wave. The spider shot out a web, which wrapped around Siegfried’s leg, pulling him to the ground. Then Richter reached into the man’s pocket, as he struggled to break the thread, pulling out the switch.

“Father…” he said, a cruel grin on his face. “There’s still one way I can win. By taking this and leaving now, you won't get to return to your precious Inner World. At least not until you build another, which is, I recall, very difficult.”

Then, Richter pressed the button, and disappeared along with his spider.

“No way!” Hunter shouted, shocked.

“Then, our way back is also…” Corona began.

“No!” Siegfried yelled. “Nooooo!” He punched at the wall, ignoring the two Spider Riders. A hole was created in the process.

“We have a battle to finish,” Hunter called. He couldn't let anything else bother him at this point. “And we will defeat you.”

* * *

Richter was the next to re-emerge in the Inner World. However, he went to a location further away from the other Spider Riders, not really wanting to see them again.

The boy knelt on the ground, pounding his fists to the dirt in frustration.

“Sir…” Wave said, looking at his partner with concern.

“I beat him, but… I didn’t really. Even with the help of those other Spider Riders, I couldn’t defeat that monster at all!”

* * *

Crashing erupted, as Siegfried began ripping apart the entire wall in anger.

“I don’t want to deal with you any longer, you worthless Spider Riders!” Grabbing a section of the wall in his hands, he thrust it at Hunter and Corona. Both Riders fired attacks, in order to break it before they were hit.

“Hunter…” Corona said, when the smoke cleared. “Siegfried, he left.”

“He couldn’t have gotten far,” Hunter replied.


	19. Last Chance

**19- Last Chance**

“Shadow, Spider Out!”

“Venus, Spider Out!”

Without speaking a word of it to each other, both Riders decided it would be alright to break Richter’s no-spider rule now. Besides, the building where Siegfried was happened to be in a more wooded area outside the city. It was kind of like his cottage. So, there was a smaller likelihood of anyone seeing the spiders accidentally.

“Come out, Siegfried!” Hunter called, as both he and Corona rode through the woods on their spiders.

There he is!” Corona pointed.

Siegfried twitched upon realizing he was found, but he stopped running and turned to face them.

“Didn’t you realize defeating me is impossible?” Siegfried asked.

“It’s not impossible,” replied Hunter. “Because I have a power I haven’t used yet.”

“The Oracle Keys!” Corona exclaimed, as she watched the boy unveil them. She was sure even before seeing them that they were what he meant. “Hurry and transform. I’ll keep him busy!” she added.

Corona began to fire arrows at him. However, Siegfried just knocked them away with his hands. The man clutched onto the trunk of a nearby tree, which he began to pull on. It looked to Corona that he was trying to rip it from the ground.

“Oracle Key!” Hunter yelled. But nothing happened. “Huh? Oracle Key!” He made no delay to try again.

“They’re not working?” Corona wondered.

Siegfried had succeeded in ripping the tree, which he lifted over his head. The man was panting furiously, but he threw it with all his might at Corona.

“Corona!” Venus shouted, and jumped in front of the tree. While she managed to protect her rider, it landed on the spider’s back.

“Oh no!” Corona yelled. “Venus, are you alright?”

She was cringing heavily. “I… I can’t move like this.”

“Spider in,” Corona said, returning her partner to the manacle.

Siegfried’s body was shaking. He was writhing in pain, and his chest felt tight.

‘No matter,’ he told himself. ‘I have to continue.’

Hunter looked at the keys in his hand.

“Isn’t Aqune back now?” he wondered out loud. “Then… these should work just fine.”

“Hunter!” Corona called. “Let me look at them. I’m a handmaiden, so maybe I can figure out why.”

“Alright,” said Hunter. “Leave Siegfried to me.”

“They’re still fighting?” Up in a tree, Richter was perched. He had quickly come to the decision to return to the Outer World. Despite what he’d tried to do, knowing Siegfried was still alive would not leave him settled.

“Key or not, I’ll destroy that bracelet!” Hunter shouted, as he dashed in on Shadow’s back. Jumping off the spider, he threw down his pike towards Siegfried’s arm.

“No you won’t!” he said, covering the bracelet with his other hand. The sound of cracking bones could be heard. But ignoring the pain in his wrist, he grabbed Hunter by the arm, squeezing as tightly as he could.

“L-let go…” Hunter yelled, trying to break loose.

“Hunter!” Shadow rammed at the man, forcing him to release Hunter.

Corona bent over, looking at the Oracle Keys which Hunter had left aside on the ground. Gently, she picked one up.

“I don’t sense Spirit Oracle’s power at all,” she said, concerned. “It isn’t weak like before. It’s like the keys have been completely drained.”

“Is Aqune back?” Venus asked.

“I think so,” said Corona. “Because, I can sense Hunter normally now. It’s just the keys.”

Siegfried began to cough, blood dripping from his mouth. Despite him being an enemy, even Hunter was slightly concerned.

“This is nothing!” Siegfried shouted, followed by a cruel laugh. “I still feel the power rushing through my body. No matter what you try, I won’t let you take it away from me.” He bent down, over the tree which he’d thrown earlier, and began to lift it again.

“Quickly, Hunter!” Shadow yelled. “Before he can use it!”

“Yeah!” Hunter yelled. Moving faster than the staggering Siegfried, Hunter finally managed to slice the bracelet.

“Auuuuugh!” Siegfried screamed. The man fell to his knees beside the tree, and once again, he began coughing blood.

“A-are you alright?” Hunter asked.

“I don’t need that enhancement,” he replied, as he struggled to stand. “I’ll make another! But first… I… I will… kill you!” He threw his fist toward the boy. But before it could make contact, the man collapsed. His heart had stopped.

“Hunter, you did it!” Corona said, as she ran to him, carrying the four keys.

“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe this wasn’t the ending I was hoping for, but, it’s finally over.”

Corona sighed, relieved.

“But, Hunter, how do we get home now? There are no more transporters, remember?”

“Yeah,” Hunter said nervously. “But, it’s alright! There’s still a way.”

“What?” asked Shadow.

“The same way I got here in the first place,” replied Hunter. “We can use the pyramid.”

“Are you sure it will work?” Corona replied.

“No,” replied Hunter. “And… now that I think about it, we’re nowhere near it. But still, if it’s the only way, then…”

* * *

Richter walked towards the body of the man who was his father.

‘Finally,’ he thought. ‘Finally, you’re gone. Now, your legacy will die with you.’ The boy took a match from his pocket. Approaching the building, he lit it on fire.

* * *

Hunter and Corona began walking forward, towards the direction Hunter believed the pyramid was. However, they stopped when they heard someone run up behind them.

“Richter!” Hunter exclaimed. “You’re back?”

“Right,” he said. “You want to go back to your world, don’t you? Because I suppose I owe it to you, for finally defeating the monster.”

“Yeah!” replied Hunter, excited. “You’re a lifesaver!”

* * *

The rest of the Riders had made it back to Arachna castle. Upon seeing the castle, Aqune was startled. It looked terrible.

“What happened to it?!”

“Oh…” Lumen replied. “You’ll have to ask your boyfriend about that.”

“Buguese?” Aqune turned to him, surprised.

“I was controlled by Siegfried at the time,” Buguese replied, sounding rather embarrassed. “Perhaps we Insectors can lend you money for repairs.”

“Don’t worry about it,” replied Lumen. “We can’t really fault you.”

“At least the castle is large,” Igneous said. “There are other rooms, and it can be repaired.”

“Hey, everyone!” came Hunter’s voice.

“Hunter!” they all yelled in shock.

“Did you win?!” Glint asked. “I bet you did, right?”

“We did,” Hunter said. “Siegfried… is dead.”

“However,” said Corona, who pulled out the Oracle Keys. “Their power is gone.”

“Gone?” Aqune wondered.

“But that’s okay, isn’t it?” Hunter replied. “Because now, everyone’s safe. We don’t need to fight anymore, so what does it matter if we have Oracle Keys or not?”

“There is still a threat,” Igneous spoke. “As long as he’s here.” He pointed to Richter.

“Yeah, but Richter’s enemy is dead,” Hunter argued. “So, he doesn’t have to worry anymore, right, Richter?”

“Sorry, but you’re wrong,” he said. “I’m glad that my father is gone, gladder than ever before. But that doesn’t take away my hate for this world.”

“You still want to destroy it?!” Corona asked, shocked.

“Yes,” Richter said. “However…” he paused. “That doesn’t mean I have to destroy it right now. I’ll be going, and you’d be wise to let me.”

Then, he released Wave from his manacle, and climbed on top.

“This is goodbye, for now.” He rode off into the distance.

“We can’t let him go!” Igneous shouted.

“I agree,” said Magma.

“Don't worry," Hunter said, holding out his arms to stop the two of them. “I’m sure we’ll see him again.”


	20. Vacation

**20- Vacation**

A week had breezed by since the defeat of Siegfried. Arachna castle had been repaired, and everyone felt a great deal of relief. Richter hadn’t been seen since than either, nor had he made any reported attacks.

There was only one small problem left. Hunter was bored.

“Everyone, I had this awesome idea,” he announced, when the group was gathered in the castle. Aqune was there as well, and had brought Buguese with her.

“What might that be?” Igneous asked, though he was unsure if he really wanted to know.

“Well,” said Hunter. “We still have Richter’s transporter, right?”

“Yeah,” Magma replied. “I didn’t throw it out or anything.”

“Great!” replied Hunter, his eyes lighting up. “In that case, who wants to go back to the Outer World?”

“Alright,” Corona replied, though she was kind of surprised by the proposal. “We didn’t really get a chance to enjoy it last time.”

“I want to go!” Sparkle said.

“Me too,” Lumen added. “The girls there were beautiful.”

“But don’t you think the same of the girls here?” asked Hunter.

“Yes,” he replied.

“If we come, would we have to go near any of those computers?” asked Igneous, sounding concerned.

“Well… not really,” replied Hunter, confused. “I told you, Igneous, they’re not dangerous. Addictive, but not dangerous.”

“Then, alright,” he said.

“One day we should go on a private date to the Outer World,” Glint suggested. “How about today? Are you guys sure you have to come too?”

“Well, I’m definitely coming,” Magma said. “The Outer World looked pretty fun.”

“Great, then,” said Hunter, who mostly ignored Glint’s comments. “Well, here’s my idea. We go to a mall.”

“What’s a mall?” asked Corona.

“Well, most malls just have a lot of clothes stores. I’m not really a fan. But there’s this one mall which is pretty incredible. They have a movie theatre, so I can finally show you guys what a movie is. There are lots of great places to eat there. And best of all, it has its own amusement park!”

“And, what’s an amusement park?” wondered Igneous.

“Well, it has amusement in the name, so it must be fun,” Lumen replied.

“Geez…” Hunter said. “I think I’m finally realizing how different my home world is from this one. Basically, you can go on different rides, which are sometimes scary, but in a fun way. I’m sure you guys will love it!”

“It all sounds wonderful,” Aqune finally spoke up. “But I don’t think I should come with you.”

“Oh, sorry, Aqune,” Hunter said. “I forgot you couldn’t go.”

“I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m just glad you guys can enjoy yourselves now. And, I’ll do something I enjoy.”

“What’s that?” asked Hunter, glad she was taking it well.

“Cooking,” she replied. “I’ll make something really delicious for all of you when you get back. And I have Buguese to help me.”

Hearing this surprised Buguese more than anyone.

“Actually, I don't have much experience in cooking. Perhaps that’s a bad idea.”

“Oh, it can’t be as bad as Corona’s cooking,” Magma commented.

“Hey!” Corona yelled. “I’m getting a lot better.”

“Yeah, that’s a little mean,” Aqune said. “Anyway, have fun, and don’t worry about us. I promise you’ll be impressed.”

“Thanks,” Hunter said. He was looking forward to it.

* * *

Once they had found the transporter, the Spider Riders travelled to an enormous mall.

“Alright,” Hunter began. “When I first came to the Inner World, I bought some of the Earth money I saved up, because I didn’t know whether or not I’d need it here. Now, I guess I’m free to spend it all. So we can have all sorts of fun.”

“Let’s see a movie first,” Glint said. “And I can sit next to you, right? Now… who do I want on the other side of me? Igneous, maybe? No, Magma! Or Lumen, perhaps?”

* * *

A while later, the group stepped out of the theatre.

“That was fascinating, but one thing really bothered me,” Igneous commented.

“What?” Hunter asked.

“What is outer space?”

“Uhh…” replied Hunter, now regretting that he took them all to see a sci-fi movie. But it was the coolest looking thing. “You could say… it’s like the anti-Inner World!”

“Huh?”

“Well, the Inner World is below the earth, and space is above it. No one really lives in space though.”

“I didn’t understand the movie at all, but I don’t care,” said Magma. “I just think this popcorn stuff is amazing. What other kinds of food does your world have, Hunter?”

“There’s plenty,” Hunter said. “Hamburgers and fries, ice cream, shakes. You should definitely try some more.” As the group walked a little bit, Hunter spotted a Dairy Queen. “We’re going there!” he announced.

And so, though no one was quite sure what they were in for, they got on the line.

“May I help you?” said the cashier, a young girl.

“Yes, you may,” replied Lumen, who squeezed in front of Hunter. “All I’d like to order is your heart.”

“What?” she replied. “Don’t you just want a Blizzard like most people?”

“No, a blizzard is much too cold,” replied Lumen. “But it’s nothing the warmth of love can’t fight.”

“Please, ignore him,” Hunter spoke. “We’d just like seven small vanilla sundaes.” He figured to just start them off by ordering something simple.

“Yes, coming up,” the poor girl replied.

* * *

“This is pretty good,” said Corona. “But… it’s cold.”

“It’s supposed to be,” said Hunter. “If you heat ice cream, it will just melt.”

“More, please,” said Magma, who had quickly downed his.

“Sorry,” Hunter said. “I don’t have unlimited money, and I still want to hit the amusement park.”

“Aww… that’s too bad,” said Glint. “I was hoping you’d show me which restaurant here was the most romantic.”

“I don’t know,” Hunter replied. The thought also brought back memories of his weird restaurant endeavor with Corona. He didn’t want to repeat that. “Actually, I used to just get fast food when I came here.”

* * *

“So, this is an amusement park?” Magma asked, as he traced the roller coaster track with his eyes, trying to make sense of it.

“It reminds me of some Insector machine,” said Corona.

“But doesn’t it look fun?” Sparkle said. “Hotarla, I wish you could come out and see it too.”

“Kyu…”

“We’re riding the roller coaster first!” Hunter announced. “Come with me.” He led them to the back of the line.

“The line is quite long,” said Lumen.

“That’s a rule of amusement parks,” replied Hunter. “The cooler the ride, the bigger the line. But I promise, you guys will love this.”

* * *

“So, what do you think?” At last, they had gotten off the ride.

“It… it was great,” answered Magma. “I have to throw up!” He ran off to the nearby garbage pail, regretting having eaten all that popcorn and ice cream.

“My head is spinning,” said Igneous. “Why did it go upside-down? Is it broken?”

“It’s supposed to,” replied Hunter.

“I guess it was cool,” Corona added. “But, they wouldn’t happen to have something more gentle, would they?”

“Oh, alright,” Hunter said. “We’ll try something simpler.” He was a bit disappointed by their responses, but maybe a coaster like that was too overboard for first time riders. Still, they did dangerous things all the time as Spider Riders, so surely they should have been up for the thrill.

“What’s that?” asked Sparkle, as they passed by a large tower-like structure.

“It’s a free-fall ride,” replied Hunter. “It’s a little scary, but not as much as the roller coaster. Want to try it?”

The others all agreed, so they got on the line, this time much shorter.

By the time the ride was over, Magma still had to throw up. But mild confusion aside, the others did seem to like it better.

Afterwards, the group tried out a few more rides. But everyone was starting to get tired, or nauseous.

“Should we go back now?” asked Corona.

“Yeah, alright,” Hunter replied. “I’m pretty much out of money anyway.”

“We also have to make sure Buguese didn’t burn the castle down this time,” added Magma.

“Aqune wouldn’t let that happen,” Hunter said. “Well, at least I hope so.”


	21. Just Like You

**21- Just Like You**

“Why am I so unsatisfied?!” yelled Richter, as he rammed at a tree trunk with his foot.

“Because you haven’t destroyed the world yet?” Wave guessed.

“Will that even be enough?” Richter replied. “What is enough? Spiting my father certainly wasn’t. Not even the satisfaction of seeing him dead lasted long enough. Why is this happening? Is it because, in the end, he was my father?”

In his mind, the events at Hunter’s home played through.

“It couldn’t have worked that way with Siegfried. We couldn’t have reconciled so easily, could we? I may be a Spider Rider, but I’m different from the rest of them.”

Then, his mind jumped to an earlier memory.

_“My parents… they’re never around. I don’t think anyone would notice if I left._

‘Since that day, I wondered. Could that girl understand me? Maybe, seeing her could lead me to the answers I need.’

“Wave, we’re going back to Arachna Castle,” he announced. “I need to see Glint. And if the others get in my way, I’ll just kill them.”

“Yes, sir,” Wave answered.

* * *

Hunter was in the kitchen, scrubbing vigorously. Corona had decided to make breakfast earlier that day, and left a disaster in the room. Before Lumen went for his early-morning nap, he insisted Hunter handle the clean-up.

‘It was Corona who did this,’ he thought to himself. Though, he didn’t really mind the task too much. At least it kept him busy, because he was already getting bored again. ‘Magma was right, though. Buguese is a better cook than Corona, and he burned _salad_.’

“Hey, Hunter!” Sparkle and Hotarla had wandered into the kitchen.

“Um… hi,” Hunter said. “I’m a little busy now, so unless you want to help-”

“Sure, we’ll help!” Sparkle interrupted.

“Kyu! Kyu!”

Well, Hunter wasn’t sure how helpful Hotarla would be, but he handed Sparkle a rag.

“Can you scrub the floor a little?”

“Okay,” Sparkle said, and quickly got to work. “Hunter, I wanted to ask you something, though.”

“What?”

“Can we go to the mall again someday? That was fun.”

“Only if we go window shopping,” Hunter replied. “I won’t be able to get any more Earth money so easily.” He thought his parents would probably give him some money if he asked, but that would likely be taking advantage of the kind of relationship they had now.

* * *

“Aqune, please teach me how to cook!” Corona called, looking at the older girl with a pleading expression.

“Sure,” Aqune said, though she was somewhat uncertain of what she could do. “However, I don’t think we can get in the kitchen now.”

Corona laughed nervously.

‘Ah, I see…’ Glint thought to herself, as she watched on from behind a couch. ‘Corona’s biggest weakness of all is that she can’t cook.’ Though, she looked boreder than usual with the news.

Then, Igneous and Magma ran down into the room.

“By the way, Igneous, I never got to properly thank you for this wonderful book!” He was hugging the Brade story tightly. “I read it as a kid, and it brings back so many memories. Were there anymore?! Can we go look?!”

“Maybe. I don’t remember,” replied Igneous.

‘Huh? What’s this?’ As they were all talking innocently, Glint watched as a light appeared from nowhere in the room, surrounding the four Riders. And then, they were gone.

“Oh my gosh!” she shouted. “Hunter! Something happened! Hunter!” She ran for the kitchen, but Hunter wasn’t there either, nor was Sparkle.

“I see,” said Glint, looking down. “That’s what it’s like for a Spider Rider. Always getting dragged off on some wild adventure. And me, I’ll never be like that.”

* * *

“Guys… where are we?” Hunter found himself with the rest of the team, including Lumen, who was now lying confused on the floor. They were in a rocky area.

“I don’t sense anything evil,” Aqune said, looking to Corona. She shook her head in reply.

“Spider Riders…” they heard a voice call to them.

“That voice!” Magma’s ears perked up.

His suspicions were correct, when the image of the Hero Brade appeared.

“Hero Brade-sama! I was just reading about your greatness!” Magma attempted to embrace him, but his arms merely phased through.

“A Gh-ghost?” Igneous wondered, a cold sweat forming on his forehead.

“Yes, I’m a ghost,” replied Brade. “Technically, I shouldn’t even reveal myself to you anymore. But I had to bring you to this remote place to discuss important matters.”

“Like what?” asked Hunter.

"Namely, the fact that you’ve neglected such a threat for so long!”

“A threat?” replied Corona. “But we defeated Siegfried.”

“He must mean Richter,” Igneous stated.

“No, I’m not talking about Richter,” Brade replied. “That boy is difficult. Perhaps the most difficult Spider Rider I've seen in all my years. But you already know all about him.”

“Then what, Hero Brade-sama?” questioned Magma. “You can’t mean… the Insectors are planning to attack us again? I knew it was a bad idea for Buguese to be around all the time.”

“No, I don’t mean the Insectors,” answered Brade. His image started to fade. “Find it, as soon as you can. Before someone gets hurt.”

“He’s gone!” Magma yelled, crying gushes of tears.

“This is serious!” Igneous shouted.

“Yeah, and the least he could have done was teleported us back,” said Hunter.

* * *

Richter easily made it into the castle. When he had a transporter, guards were nothing to be concerned about. The real challenge started now that he was in.

Cautiously, he darted around an empty hallway on the bottom floor, checking for anyone familiar. Then, outside the kitchen, he came across a sulking Glint. It was that easy?

“It’s you!” Glint shouted, noticing as soon as Richter walked in. “The others are gone, so you’re not going to find them.” Her arms were crossed.

“I’m not looking for them,” answered Richter. “I’m looking for you.”

“Why me?” Glint asked, surprised.

“Because I thought… maybe we were alike,” said Richter.

“Huh? Cut to the point?” replied Glint. She seemed pretty annoyed.

Richter knew how odd and sudden that must have sounded. Still, he wasn’t ready to stop.

“I remember when you talked about your parents being away. That they wouldn’t even notice if you were gone. And you haven’t gone back to your house since you came here. Have you just forgotten about them? Is that even possible?”

“Oh,” Glint said. “ _That_. Who cares about parents? I only care about Spider Riders. And now I think it’s my turn for a random question. Can I look at your manacle?”

“Umm…” Richter said. He was disappointed that she didn’t give him a straight or helpful answer. But, as for his manacle, he supposed it would be alright. “It isn’t really that interesting,” he continued, as he unlatched it and handed it to her.

“Yes!” Glint exclaimed. For a minute, she simply held it in her hand, admiring it. Then, she latched it onto her own arm. “So this is how it feels? What it’s like to wear a manacle.” Her voice turned more quiet. “But it’s meaningless in the end.”

“Glint, are you alright?” Richter asked.

The girl smiled, a cold smile.

"Oh, I suppose. I've resigned myself to this fate some time ago." She reached her hand into her pocket. “Richter, you were right. We are very much alike. Because the both of us our liars.”

From her pocket, she pulled out a knife, and pushed the unprepared Richter to the ground. With the knife, she made a deep cut in his leg.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Richter shouted, trying to push her off despite the pain, and the pouring of blood.

“Want to know the truth about my parents?” she said, slashing at his face, then his arm. “They died a long time ago. It was during an Insector attack.”

Richter reached for his manacle. Maybe he wasn’t so strong as a human, but if he could fight as a Spider Rider…

“That manacle is mine now!” Glint shouted, as she began to stab at him with the bloodied knife. “It should have been mine from the start. I’ve always dreamed of being a Spider Rider. Always. And then you came around!” Another slash here. Another stab there. “But as you can see, a plain human like me is defeating a Spider Rider like you. And I’ll do the same to all the rest. I’ve learned so much about them from my time here. It will be so easy.”

Glint stood, looking down at Richter. He was barely conscious, and lying in a puddle of blood.

“I hope Hunter and the others enjoy this gift when they return.”


	22. Beyond Ordinary

**22- Beyond Ordinary**

Eventually, the Spider Riders made it back to Arachna Castle.

“That Hero Brade is a real pain,” Lumen said. “Making us travel this far. I was really enjoying my nap too.”

“Never insult the Hero Brade!” Magma shouted, shooting him an angry glare.

“I can if he interrupts my naps,” said Lumen. “Besides, I’m the prince, and you’re just a subordinate.”

“Well I would gladly work for Hero Brade-sama instead if he asked me,” argued Magma.

The group’s bantering came to an end when they went inside, and saw many guards circled around something.

“What’s going on?!” Hunter asked. He rushed in, signaling for the guards to move aside.

“Well…” one of them began. But there was no need to say more.

“Richter!” He saw the eighth Spider Rider lying there on the ground, bleeding.

“Richter?! What’s he doing here?” Igneous asked. But even he was disturbed by the sight they saw.

“We’ll handle this,” Hunter said.

“Understood,” one of the guards spoke. “But, he may need medical attention. We found him this way, and no one can figure out how it happened.” They then promptly cleared the area, leaving it to the Riders.

“I’ll heal him as best I can,” Aqune said. “I hate to see anyone like this.”

“Good idea,” Hunter replied. “Then, we can at least ask him who did this.”

“Fine,” said Igneous. He wanted to protest, but this time, Hunter probably was right.

Aqune knelt down next to Richter, placing her hands over him. As she chanted, an aura of light appeared around the girl. Some of the wounds began to stitch up.

“I hope this was enough,” Aqune said. His condition seemed pretty serious to her.

Then the red-haired boy started to stir, and his eyes opened.

“You… you’re…” he said, seeing Aqune watching over him. He lifted his arm quickly, as if attempting to attack, but Aqune took hold of it.

“Wait. Don’t move,” she spoke, but let go.

“Shut up!” He struggled to stand up, but to no success. He grabbed at his leg, where he had received a very deep cut. He had no feeling in it.

“Richter…” Hunter began. “The question of what you’re doing here can wait, but we need to know who did this to you?”

“Fine,” he said. “It was that twisted girl, Glint. The one who’s always clinging to you. And she also stole Wave from me.”

“Glint?!” Hunter exclaimed. "Are you sure?" Everyone wore stunned looks.

“Yeah…” Richter said, still struggling. “She…” For a moment, he half propelled himself up, using his other leg. But feeling intense pain, the boy passed out.

“She’s the threat Hero Brade talked about?” Magma wondered.

“I don’t get it,” said Hunter. “Why would Glint do this of all people? I have to go find her!”

“Hunter…” Corona said. “I’ll come with you.” If the girl was able to hurt Richter so badly, Corona was instinctively worried about sending one person after her alone.

“Sure,” Hunter agreed.

“I’d also like to come,” Aqune said. “However, first, I’d like to let Buguese know about this. Do you have any messenger bugs left?”

“Yeah, we should,” replied Igneous. “I’ll go and get it.”

“It’s fine if you three want to go,” Lumen spoke. “But some of us should stay back and guard the castle.”

“What for?” Magma said.

“She might come back here,” Lumen answered. “And besides, there’s someone else here we have to watch out for, even though I doubt there’s much he can do in this state.”

“Alright,” Magma agreed. “Then good luck, you guys. Contact us if you find her, though.”

“We will,” answered Hunter.

* * *

Hunter, Corona and Aqune were on the road, on top of their spiders.

“I knew that girl was a handful, but this is ridiculous,” said Shadow.

“There’s got to be a good reason,” Hunter replied. “I mean, she was our friend. Maybe Richter tried to hurt her.”

“But, what she did to him didn’t look like self-defense,” the spider argued. “That was overkill.”

“I know,” Hunter said, a troubled look on his face.

“Where exactly are we going?” asked Aqune. It wouldn’t be good to just search aimlessly, she thought. “Glint isn’t a Spider Rider, so I can’t sense her presence.”

“I think we should try Padan,” Corona suggested. “That’s her home village. It’s possible that she would have gone back.”

“Good idea,” replied Hunter.

* * *

Buguese was surprised when a messenger bug arrived for him at the Insector castle. It could have been one from the Spider Riders, but what reason would they have to contact him with it?

“What is it?” he asked.

The yellow bug began chirping a reply.

“Aqune sent this?” He wondered out loud. “Something must have happened. The eighth Spider Rider, perhaps?” He knew just guessing wouldn’t do him any good. He decided to head off and find Aqune immediately.

* * *

Soon, the three Riders had reached Padan. When they entered the city, they returned the spiders to their manacles.

“This is definitely the place,” Hunter said. The walls of her house were still dented, from the previous attack on the village.

Hunter knocked on the door. “Glint! Are you in there?!”

Hearing someone approach the door, the Spider Riders stepped backwards. Indeed Glint opened it.

“You came to visit me?” Glint asked sweetly. “Then, I suppose that means you’ve discovered Richter.”

“Why did you attack him?” asked Hunter.

“Because he disgusts me,” replied Glint. “All he wanted was my sympathy, but he’s the last person I would give it to.”

“Sympathy?” Corona asked. Though, she shook her head. “No, that’s not important. All this time when you were with us, you never acted like the kind of person who would do that to someone. Please, help us understand. We are your friends.”

“Friends?” she spat. “I was pretending all along.” The girl stepped into her dark house. “Join me, if you want to hear a story. Or just leave.”

“Tell us!” Hunter said, entering the house. Corona and Aqune looked doubtful, but joined him anyway, and Glint shut the door behind them.

“Not everything was a lie,” Glint said. “I always did admire the Spider Riders. I always wanted to be one. A strong, brave hero.” Each of her words had a cruel aftertaste. “I didn’t live in this village all my life, you know?” she continued. “My old village was destroyed in an Insector attack. Nearly everyone died there. Why? Because the Spider Riders couldn’t make it in time to save us. We were all ordinary people, who could do nothing to stand up against evil. That day, my wish became stronger than ever. I didn’t want the curse of being ordinary. I wanted to be just like the Spider Riders. So I got to live with them, learn everything about them, pretend for a while that they would accept me as one of their own. Now, I even have my own manacle.” She flashed her arm in front of the three.

“That’s Richter’s!” Hunter shouted. “Give it back!”

“No,” she said. “But it’s not like I truly have a need for it. After all, I defeated Richter all by myself. Me, a normal human. And I’m going to do the same thing to all of you. Now that I’ve watched you for so long, I’m prepared for everything. And I know you can’t even use your Oracle Keys.”

“You want to fight us?” Aqune asked, trying to digest all of this.

“You’ve got that right,” said Glint.

“That’s ridiculous!” Hunter yelled. “You may not have been a Spider Rider, but you were one of us. We all thought of you as a friend!”

“Enough with that friend stuff already!” she shouted. “Holding out this long was a chore! I might have made a move sooner, if not for that irritating Earthen man trying to wreck this world.”

She took a deep breath to calm herself, and turned on the lights. Now, the contents of the small house could be seen more clearly. It was barely furnished, just a bed and a table, with a kitchen area in the back. But standing in front of the second room was a giant mechanical spider.

“What is that?!” Corona asked.

“A toy I built,” Glint answered. “It was made from the remains of the Insector machine which crushed my village. He was my very first spider. And it’s not just a decoration.”

The spider crawled up in front of the girl.


	23. Glint's Power

**23- Glint’s Power**

“We have to contact the others.” Corona remembered that they’d promised to do so. She wasn’t sure quite what that ominous machine was capable of, but it would probably be wise to have back up.

“Yeah,” said Hunter. He put his manacle closer to his mouth. “Lumen, can you read me?”

“Hunter?” he replied. “Did you find her?”

“We did,” he said. “She’s in Padan. At the house where we first met her.”

“I understand,” Lumen said, even though he didn't know what house Hunter was referring to. “We’ll be on our way.”

“How is Richter?” Hunter asked.

“He’s resting,” Lumen replied. “Lucky him.”

The transmission ended.

“Fools!” Glint yelled. “You can call for an army if it suits you, but they won’t be able to help you. Thanks to my synthetic spider, this place is surrounded by a powerful web barrier. They can’t get in, and you can’t get out.”

“How is this going to prove your power over us, if you won’t take us all at once?” Hunter asked, annoyed.

“You talk too much,” replied Glint. “What did I ever see in you? Oh wait, nothing!” Her spider suddenly shot a thread, which wrapped around Hunter’s body.

“Hunter!” Corona exclaimed. She looked to Aqune. “We have to do something. We don’t have room to call our spiders, but…”

“Right. Oracle’s kindness!”

“Oracle’s soul!”

Corona shot an arrow at Glint, who narrowly dodged it. Still, Corona only needed to distract her. She ran to Hunter’s side, and was attempting to untie him, while Aqune worked from the other side.

“Maybe I should kill you first!” She lunged at Corona with her knife, slashing her arm.

Screaming, Corona reflexively moved back.

"Stop it!” Hunter said, who was finally freed, and transformed himself. He ran in for an attack, only to be pushed back by the large machine spider.

“I’ll try!” Aqune declared, rushing at the spider with her sword. Before she could hit it, the spider fired a barrage of bullets, which knocked the handmaiden to the ground.

"I'll get him!" Hunter shouted, much angrier after seeing his comrades hurt. As he was about to fire a blast, though, he was hit by the same attack as Aqune.

“We can’t even get close to Glint,” Corona commented.

“I have an idea,” said Aqune. “You two keep the spider busy, and I’ll strike her from a distance away.” Though she was uncomfortable with the idea of actually hurting the girl, Aqune knew she could deal a lot of damage with her electric attacks.

“Got it!” replied Hunter. Both he and Corona set their sights on the machine.

“Shockwave!” Aqune threw an attack towards Glint. However, the girl took the blow intentionally with the manacle on her arm. It seemed to absorb much of the blast, but was now dented a bit.

“That’s…” Aqune said.

“Exactly,” replied Glint. “Your old ally’s manacle. And his spider is inside. If it’s to be destroyed by accident, I wonder what would happen to the spider?”

“That’s cowardly!” Corona shouted.

“Oh, is that how you want to put it? Because I call it practicality.” The machine spider launched yet another barrage of bullets at the three.

* * *

It was then when Lumen, Magma, Igneous and Sparkle arrived.

“That has to be it,” Magma said. “But… something’s weird.”

The outside of the house was now covered in a thick webbing. It was quite the grotesque scene.

“What is that?” asked Igneous.

Magma reached out his hand and touched it, but was instantly repelled backwards a bit.

“It looks like web, but it’s got to be some kind of barrier,” he replied.

“Oh no!” Sparkle said. “I hope Hunter and the others are alright.”

“Well, I’ll blast through it and find out,” replied Lumen, hoping to impress Sparkle. “Just watch me!” The boy quickly transformed into Rider armor.

“Are you sure, Prince?” asked Igneous. “If Hunter and the others are inside, you could hurt them."

“Well, what else are we supposed to try?” Magma responded. “Go for it, Prince. Just be careful.”

Lumen nodded.

Blessed Darts!” his attack hit the side of the building. For a minute, the web it hit seemed to vanish, but it quickly reformed.

“How?” Lumen said, stunned.

“It looks as if you almost got it,” Igneous spoke. “Let me try.” He too transformed.

“Flamethrower!” A section of the web was ignited. But then the flame dissolved.>

“It looks like attacking doesn’t work,” Sparkle said, disappointment shown in her voice.

“We can’t give up,” Magma replied. “Even if we have to keep attacking it again and again until it weakens.”

“Good idea,” Sparkle replied. “Oracle’s Purity!”

“Oracle’s Devotion!”

Now, all four were transformed, and ready to attack.

* * *

“If only we could use the Oracle Keys,” Hunter spoke. The three of them were only getting pounded.

“But even if we did have that power, we would still risk hurting Wave,” Aqune replied. She didn’t know what would happen if a manacle were destroyed, because she’d never seen it happen. Perhaps the spider would be fine in manacle space. But then, would it be stuck there forever? Regardless, it wasn’t a risk she wanted to take.

“I know that,” said Hunter in frustration. “But, if we could at least use that power to destroy the spider, we would have the advantage.”

“Maybe, I could try to make them work again,” Aqune said, as she darted aside to dodge an attack, a difficult feat in such a small room. “Spirit Oracle made them in the first place, so perhaps… I could make them again.”

“But how will you get the chance?” asked Corona, also narrowly missing a shot. She didn’t know how long it would take, but doubted she and Hunter could hold it off alone for too long. Not when they were already tired anyway.

“Whatever you’re planning, you’ll never get the chance!” yelled Glint. “Go, my spider!”

Threads shot again from the spider in all directions. There was nowhere to dodge. This time, all three of the Riders were caught in the synthetic spider’s grasp.

“Oh man…” Hunter said, trying his best to squirm away. But it was tight.

“Now you’re not so mighty, Spider Riders,” Glint mocked. “You’re like helpless little flies, about to be eaten by the spider. Except, my spider doesn’t eat. It uses heavy artillery.”

She signaled for the spider to fire bullets again. There was no way to dodge the attack.

Hunter groaned in pain, as the smoke cleared.

“At least… that broke the threads,” he said. “Are you guys okay?”

He looked to the two girls on either side of him. Both were at least conscious.

“I guess,” Aqune replied.

“But… this is getting bad,” said Corona.

“Well you’re persistent,” Glint muttered, annoyed. “But, I suppose that will make me look all the better when I kill you.”

* * *

“Still no luck,” Igneous sighed. The four had been attacking the barrier constantly, but no matter what, it would reform.

They were surprised when from up above, Buguese’s transport arrived. He beamed down before them.

“Spider Riders,” Buguese said. “At last, I’ve found you.”

Hello there,” Lumen said. “As you can probably see, we’ve run into quite a problem.”

"Where is Aqune?” asked Buguese, who didn’t care about much else at the moment.

“Presumably, she’s inside with Hunter and Corona,” Igneous spoke. “But we don’t know any more than that. There’s a strong barrier around the house, and we haven’t been able to destroy it.”

“I may have a way,” Buguese responded.

They looked at him, curiously.

“I didn’t know what to expect from Aqune’s warning, so I brought along a very powerful weapon. Since we were first attacked by Richter, I had begun development on a new type of Machine-Sector. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ready until now.”

Buguese then unleashed an enormous mechanical beetle.

“That’s… actually pretty impressive when we don’t have to fight it,” Lumen commented. “But what does it do?”

“For now, self-destruct,” Buguese replied.

“Huh? How is that going to help us?” Sparkle asked.

“Because it will release an enormous amount of energy,” Buguese replied. “If your attacks are not enough to destroy the barrier, this should be. Now stand back.”

The Riders did so, and Buguese hit a switch. There was indeed a large explosion, which reached the walls of the house. The Insector jumped for the opening. It seemed that he made it inside. But then, the Riders could only watch as the web sealed around the hole once more.


	24. The Light of Hope

**24- The Light of Hope**

The impact of a massive explosion obviously caught the attention of the four in the building.

“Buguese?!” Aqune exclaimed. “How did you get here?”

The Insector’s clothes appeared to be slightly charred, but otherwise he was fine.

“How doesn’t matter,” Hunter said. “This is great. Now you can help us while Aqune fixes the Oracle Keys.”

The Insector looked confused, and for good reason. But there wasn’t any time to dwell on confusion.

“Very well,” he said.

“Wait,” Aqune said. “Attack the spider, not Glint. She has Wave hostage, and we can’t risk hurting him.”

Glint stared angrily at the arrival of a new opponent.

“I don’t know how you got here, but I know if you try to stop me, I’ll have to kill you as well, Insector” she declared.

“I will not lose to a human!” Buguese responded, annoyed. He released the blade to his sword, and swung it down towards the machine. In retaliation, the synthetic spider shot a web, which wrapped around his sword, pulling him down.

* * *

“How troublesome,” said Lumen. “It closed up again.”

“Do you think Buguese made it in?” Sparkle asked, worriedly.

“Maybe,” Lumen said. “Or maybe he was burned to ashes. Either way, we won’t know for a while.”

“Normally I’d be rooting for the second option,” Magma replied. “But now, I think Hunter and them need all the help they can get.”

* * *

Buguese was able to release his sword, but not until after being shot at by bullets.

“Do Machine-Sectors ever run out of firepower?” Hunter asked.

“Not for a long time, if they’re made well,” Buguese replied. He shot a blast of energy at the spider. However, it did nothing but slightly dent the metal.

Aqune kneeled down, holding the four keys in her hand.

“Please…” she began. “Please activate again. I know that we shouldn’t be fighting at all. We shouldn’t even have a need for Oracle Keys. But right now, that may be the only way we can achieve a world of peace. Somehow, we have to stop Glint, and rescue Wave.”

Corona was thrown back by bullets in one direction. In a moment after, Buguese was also shot away.

Hunter was panting heavily. He was running out of energy.

“Humans vs. Insectors. Earthens vs. the people of the Inner World. Spider Riders vs. ordinary humans. There’s no reason for any of that,” Aqune spoke. “I’d give anything to see all life united.” A bright aura encircled the girl, and it kept growing larger, brighter. The keys floated away from her, into Hunter’s hands.

“Hunter, that’s…” Corona said.

“Yeah,” replied Hunter. “The Oracle Keys.”

“Hurry and transform!” Buguese declared, firing again at the spider. Corona followed him, shooting off an arrow.

“Oracle Key!”

“What is this?!” Glint scowled, seeing Hunter change to a new form. “How did you do that?!”

“With the Oracle’s power,” replied Hunter. “Aqune’s power, that is. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, relieved that it had been successful.

“Now, attack the spider,” came Shadow’s voice. He was rather unhappy that he couldn’t come out and help Hunter, but he had faith in the ability of his partner. Especially when he knew the power of the four-key state first hand.

“Got it!” shouted Hunter.

“No!” yelled Glint. But Hunter launched his strongest attack, and the synthetic spider exploded.

“Huh?!” At the instant the spider was destroyed, a huge explosion emerged. Bright light filled the room. Outside, the barrier of web was swept away, leaving the building clean, short of the large hole Buguese had created earlier.

* * *

“Are you all alright?!” Igneous was the first to enter the house. There, he saw Hunter attempting to stand up. The others looked to have been knocked out by the shockwaves.

“I hope so,” Hunter said. He was glad to see the rest of his team waiting for him outside. But his first concern was Corona. He ran to her side, taking her in his arms.

“Corona, are you okay?”

She opened her eyes. “Hunter…”

“Thank goodness,” Hunter said.

Buguese and Aqune quickly recovered as well, to the others’ relief, and were holding each other close.

But Glint was the last to awaken. Magma and Igneous readied their weapons, seeing her rise from the ground.

“Don’t make a move!” Igneous demanded.

“Huh? What?” The girl shivered, seeing the man threaten her. “A-are you going to hurt me?”

“Why shouldn’t we?!” Magma shouted. “You lied to us. You want to kill us!”

“I… when did I…” Trembling harder, she fell to her knees, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. “Just… who are you? Who am I?”

“You don’t remember?” Corona asked. It struck a chord with her, as she had suffered with amnesia for most of her life.

“Obviously, she’s lying again,” Igneous said. He moved closer to her, pointing his sword at the girl’s face.

“Ahhhh!” she screamed.

“Wait!” Aqune said. “I believe her.”

“Me too,” Corona replied. “She’s different from before. That girl is completely afraid of us.” There were tears welling up in Glint’s eyes.

“Maybe so, but just what do we do about her?” asked Lumen.

“We could take her with us,” Hunter suggested.

“Are you out of your mind?” Shadow asked.

“I don’t think she really has a place to go,” Hunter says. “She doesn’t have to stay with us forever. I mean, unless she wants to. Just for now.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “What do you think, Glint?”

“Sure” she replied. “If… if it’s alright with you all.”

“Yeah, it is,” answered Hunter.

* * *

A week had gone by since then. Finally, Buguese and Aqune had gotten married. They agreed on a very small ceremony, only inviting the Spider Riders (and of course their spiders), Glint, and a couple Insectors. That lakeside area they found was the location they chose.

“You know, Hunter, I never thought I’d see something like this happen,” Shadow commented.

“Me neither,” replied Hunter. “But, as long as Aqune is happy.”

“Hunter…” Corona spoke. Her face was bright red, and it looked like it was a struggle for her to even instigate the conversation.

“Yeah?” Hunter replied.

“Someday, will we get married?”

The boy too was blushing now. Marriage? Well he never really thought about it. But he thought, if he did get married, it would have to be to Corona. After all, she was always by his side, always there to support him in every way.

“I think, I’d like that someday,” he replied.

“Alright, but you have to invite me.” Aqune was standing behind the two, to their surprise. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Aqune, my dear, we must go now,” Buguese spoke, and then lifted the girl into his arms.

“Right,” Aqune replied, wearing a wide smile on her face.

Buguese’s transport hovered above them, and took them inside.

“Only a guy like Buguese would plan diplomatic business on the day of his wedding,” Lumen commented.

“How come?” Sparkle asked.

“Because he’s a jerk, that’s why,” Magma replied.

“I don’t know about that,” Lumen said. “It might actually be rather brilliant, from a political standpoint. Or, he’s just a workaholic. Either way, I’m impressed.”

Their conversation came to a sudden halt when a familiar figure approached them. Riding on the back of Wave was none other than Richter.

“Wh-why are you here?” Hunter asked.

“You’re in no condition to fight us,” Corona spoke. On top of that, she thought Aqune would be upset if there was a battle at her wedding, not that she was even there anymore.

“I didn’t come here to fight,” Richter said. “I may never walk again. I’m aware of that much. Kinda pathetic, I know.” He laughed bitterly. “But needless to say, I won’t lay around Arachna Castle like a cripple either. I’m going on a journey, to figure out the answers I need. About my father, about myself. Wave will support me. That’s why spider and Riders are partners after all. To support each other, right?”

“That’s true,” Igneous said, concern showing in his voice.

“Glint, care to come with me?” he asked.

“Huh?” The blue-haired girl looked to him, blankly.

“You’re pretty strong. I know that first hand. How would you like to join me and Wave, and find out about yourself too?”

“A-alright…” she replied, confused. Richter reached for her hand, and pulled her up onto Wave’s back.

“Farewell then, unless our paths cross!” Wave and his Rider dashed away, just as soon as they’d appeared.

“There’s no way this can be a good thing,” Igneous said. Maybe Richter isn’t a threat to us, but the two of them together? If Glint’s memory returns-” 

“I think it will be fine,” Hunter interrupted.

“What do you mean?” Igneous looked to him.

“Well, I guess her memory could return. But even if she stayed with us, that could still happen. In any case, if either of them try to attack us, if anyone threatens the Inner World again, we’ll be ready for it, won’t we?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Igneous said. The six Spider Riders stood together, forming a circle. Hunter reached his hand into the middle, and each put their hands on top of his.

“We’re Spider Riders,” Hunter said. “So we’ll definitely keep protecting the Inner World.”


End file.
